This poem is about mourning the loss of youth, but also friends that once stood with you. I know they’re not in my life for a reason, but I wish we didn’t have to do so much leaving from each other. In my mind I’m still running with them, even if I don’t anymore. To pay homage to the space we’ve lost within each other – I pray we can still find homes in the hearts of one another.

In the days before

My Mom got cancerful,

I would run wild –

A little Blue Ridge Boy.

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I JUST DID A BACKFLIP MOM

Harrison and James held my legs

And helped flip me up.

Feet over knees, 

Knees over shoulders

And head spinning,

I’ve just seen the world as I never have

Ever

Before.

Then we wrote ripsticks on tennis courts

Like we were surfers riding tsunamis

On surfboards.

All the way to dairy queen,

We got some chicken tendies and ice cream –

Chugged some kickstarts,

And kept on gunning.

We also bought a condom in the bathroom

And got scared our parents would find it,

So we threw it in the woods.

But I won’t tell her about it.

Time slipped past us

Like a fast deceiver

Day passed by, but in darkness we see clearer.

Grabbed flashlights,

Started at base

And started running from the flashlit seeker.

Hopped fences,

No shoes on,

Soles stained green,

No water breaks,

Dodging and weaving,

Deceiving the light,

Trying to be quicker.

Game would end,

We’d start again.

We’d play until the flashlight flickered,

Till the batteries were caput.

We laughed and ran and skipped our dinner

Till light cut out,

And we crowned the last winner.

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I’ll keep your batteries fresh,

Food on the table,

And when I see darkness comin’

I’ll let you go a little more.

My little Blue Ridge Boy –

A kid running wild.