Want

I want to be a poet.

I want to write long, languid sentences

About resting in the shade of an elm,

Or the sound a fresh newspaper

Makes when you snap it open,

Or the way it’s impossible

Not to sip your hot chocolate

Even though you know it will burn

Your tongue again.

I want to be an actor.

I want to make people laugh

Until tears roll down their cheeks.

I want to make them lean forward

In their seat.

I want them to get to their feet,

Forget where they are,

Forget that they’re staring at a stage

And not their own thoughts.