Floating

Dear innocence,

Dear youth,

Dear childhood,

I have

A story

A story that

I’m sure you’ve heard

Many times before

But, regardless

It is still a tragic one

On one late October day

On one dreary, broken street

There was a boy

Who played in the water

He had made a boat

A simple one

As all children do

Out of paper

He placed it in the pond

A gleam in his eyes

And a rush in his cheeks

As he watched it

Float

It floated towards him

And it seemed to smile

The simple sheet of paper

Seemed to be much more

Than what it was

He carried it home

As if it was a crown

It was bright

And beautiful

And big

So incredibly big

He placed it in his room

On the desk

And there it sat

Like a trophy

Many years later

As a grown man

He returns home

And sees the boat

Dusty and forgotten

He remembers the day

That the boat he made

Floated

He picks up the boat

The simple sheet of paper

Walks out the door

And finds the place where

Many years ago

The boat

Floated

He sets it gently in the water

And watches it glide

Across the still plane

He watches it

Float

But now

The boat is not bright

Or beautiful

Or big

It is crumpled

And old

And dusty

It does not smile

It frowns

It stares at him

It seems to say

What have you done?

Water

Not from the pond

Springs to the man’s eyes

As he realizes that

He should have

Paid more attention

To this simple boat

He should have

Taken a closer look

At all of the hopes and dreams

Stored within it

He remembers himself

As a young boy

Full of passion

And ideas

And he wishes

That he was

More like that boy

That fearless boy

But, then again

Don’t we all?

That young boy

Had something

That is rare

And impossible to obtain

That boy

Had time

He had time

To be anything

The captain

Of a ship

A pilot

In the sky

An astronaut

On the moon

But the man knew that

Him standing there

Watching the boat

With tears in his eyes

Was proof

Proof that

The precious time

Belonging to that boy

Had been

Wasted

He turned his back

On the boat

And walked away

From the water

From the boat

That was

Floating

Away

He turned his back on that boy who

So many years ago

Placed that same boat

In the water

And watched it

Float

In his mind

He saw himself

Many years ago

He saw that boy

And he told that boy

Don’t squander

Your time

Because boats don’t float forever

And in this world

We are all just boats.

We

Are

All

Just

Floating

Sincerely,

Me.