Tiana Gaudioso

"I am a 22-year old poet and performer from Phoenix, AZ who is still crafting my art and voice. Alongside poetry, I also dabble in comedy, a female-centric podcast, and assistant directing youth musicals. I hope to help people understand their emotions with my work, and remind all we aren’t alone and everyone goes through relatable experiences such as heartbreak, loss, and uncertainty."

IG: @tianatakespoetry

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A TOWN YOURS YET A TOWN NOT MINE

there were four separate times I saw you
in the place you called your own
in the place I called my future
a big city with a grid system 
that mirrored the parallel lines
you had trapped me in (so long)

the first time we reunited under
racks of toys and spinning wheels
your smile foreign to me
for I hadn’t seen it since we last
marched a field together
my friend tagging along knew
my intentions were set because
      I had been tied to you
longer than I wanted to admit

the second time we convened under
different pretenses months later
holding each others hearts
we linked fingers through walls of art
spent the night for the first time
      tangling our minds
to the idea that one day we’d be there
at the same time
in that town so bright

the third time we met up under
the hood of unsureness
our heads having collided weeks prior
when the tickets had been bought
our judgement clouded over after
seeing one another again
ready to remember what we were 
      eating chicken fingers
introducing me to your lifelong friends

the final time we reconciled under
the twinkling lights of the town yours
yet the town not mine
the distance between our souls
greater than it had ever been
your heart no longer attached to me
      somehow you forged effort
to see me for coffee to discuss
the future of our place there 

the town was not mine
the town never was
the town was a 
      far-reaching
           far-fetched
                far far far far
goal I stretched too much for
the town didn’t want me

you’re (in) the town
holding the heart and hand of another
probably walking through those same walls
eating those same chicken fingers
figuring things out away from me
even when promised you’d do it with me
      the town moved on
threw me out when decided 
I wouldn’t make it there

      the town is gone
the town does not exist for me anymore