When you watch the sun set
what do you see?
The world aglow with
The sun’s last melody
A parting farewell
Or perhaps
A last clinging hope
To keep one good friend
Or at least imprint
A memory in our hearts
Of glimmering lights with orange hue
Before the sun rise starts anew
And our previous memories are washed away
As our mind turns to small common place affairs
And we start another day

In second grade my student number was 16
New school
New friends
Boy problems like a sixteen year old girl
Lamenting over
My crush leaving the state
But I still remember
he didn’t pick me to cut cut his goodbye cake
In third grade my student number was 12
From sixteen to twelve years
My immaturity dropped
To new heights
As I began crushing on Crush #1’s best friend
Too shy
Otherwise he may leave too
No friends either
Except one
Who cheated me out of a bag of oyster crackers while trading at lunch
In fourth grade my student number was 14
Little more maturity
Or at least I thought I was
Like a fourteen year old girl
A shining star, doing gymnastics on the railing for then handicapped ramp
And our very own fashion show
On the grassy hill in the playground
In fifth grade my student number was 15
I was like a big girl now
I had my own best friends
I didn’t need a crush-who cared about iky romance?
In sixth grade my student number was 25
My own maturity soared
While my friend’s dropped
As my friend’s hearts were broken
And age long friendships broke apart
I was the helpless observer
No drama of my own (thankfully)
But plenty from all other sides
And so came the end of my elementary school years and my innocence along with it.