A rollerblade expedition,
My old school, I glide into the schoolyard
Escaping from my current world to the past
Fond memories unblemished by time
Past the dog who we teased from the opposite side of the fence
Poor thing
She barks at me as I whiz past
A cacophony of snarls
Bitch
The tree where we dug a hole, rocket to the moon
An ambitious dream to expand our fifteen-minute block of freedom
Endless moon bounces
Of course we stopped
Too many differences of opinion
Blueprints discarded, plans of forever meaningless
Skating past unfamiliar painted lines
New boundaries, new rules, new students.
Safety precautions, yet we always end up hurt.
Graffiti strewn across the wall
Hard-to-decipher profanity
Pushing boundaries, breaking rules, kids I know.
How many disappointments grace my old yearbook?
Like I should talk.
Skipping over piles of dirt, avoiding faceplanting
Where I traced grit masterpieces when I was sad
Contradictory smiley faces
Past the marble hill
A game I gave up when I lost my treasure
The marble I used as a pokéball
But that didn't ruin our fun
My favourite play structure
I got my first detention defending it
Stupid cootie-infected boys, tattletales
My permanent record tarnished
Sadness builds from the loss of simple times
A utopia we created with ingenious ideas,
Where are you now, my long-lost friends?
I hear a shriek of laughter
Children digging furiously with sticks
The fabrication of a new rocket
I dearly hope they fly further than we did.