I watched as my childhood slipped me by leaving behind the smell
of grass and the feeling of mud beneath my fingernails.
I caught glimpses of my own smile, faintly hearing the laugh that came between parted lips.
We met at four.
Picking flowers and playing teacher.
The boys hand out flowers, we’re studying to become teachers.
It leaves me weeping, hunched over, and out of breath.
Snot and tears paint my face now just as they did at age six.
What a gut-wrenching experience to feel everything. To know but never understand.
Suddenly, everything came full circle and I thought it would end here
It did not.
The miles stretch on before me, even if it did all end here.
We will part, and if there is a chance you read this, know
You cannot fear what is out of your control.
It is true,
One never knows when it is coming.
Fear what? Asked the child.
The sun is warm and the first tulip has bloomed