{Poem 53}

Do you remember the days on the swings?

When the wind rushed through golden curls

And you didn’t care about the boys or the girls

You were in your own little world

Still Dreaming

Hoping

Laughing

Back when you were happy

And your faith was like a child’s

You believed on a whim

Trusting what you heard

Back when you didn’t care if someone looked at you odd

Or thought that you were chubby

Annoying

Ugly

Because all you cared about was in that moment

 The wind rushing through your hair

The pressure on your back whenever your Mommy

Or Daddy

Pushed you to the sky

The Pumping of your legs

And of course

The smile your wore because

You were young

 You were adolescent

You were innocent

It all really begins to crumble

That undeniable faith

When you find out that

For the first years of your life

Your parents deceived you

With dreams of Leprechauns

Easter Bunnies

Santa

That foundation begins to crack

When your first tooth wiggles out

You trusted that tooth to help you chew

And when it leaves

It’s like you’ve been abandoned

Leaving you with nothing but

An uncomfortable gap

And the taste of metal

Tainting your bloody gums

Those childish memories begin to fade

When they are replaced by moments you strive to forget

Telling yourself you aren’t worth it

Hearing others call you useless

And your innocence is washed away

As you have been built on

A foundation of lies

Of judgments

Of sand

Do you remember the days on the swings?