elegy #1

Tell me about the time you almost pinned youth to the ground How she laughed in bell tones before she cried Before she told you that her time was almost up That was when you noticed the bruises, didn't you? Around her wrists? Shackles around her bronze, freckled skin She said she was trying something new, but you knew She had no choice The cuts on her elbows and knees were scabbing over Her trademark injuries from tumbling down hills And spending hours at the park These bruises were new And they weren't scabbing over No, these were here to stay