I knew a boy once
who inhaled books
like he inhaled the air,
whose blue eyes were always full of laughter
and who was always willing
to give a little bit up
to make someone else smile.

I watched him once
as we were talking
and took note of the way
that his smile brightened
every time I met his eyes
and never seemed
to get bored of what I had to say.

The boy I knew once
put his books on the shelf
as other things filled him up,
and his blue eyes grew a little crueler
because he was always willing
to give a lot of his life up
to make those he wanted to be like approve.

I watched him once
as I was talking
and took note of the way
that his smile wasn't as real
and he wouldn't meet my eyes
and sort of seemed
to be pulling away.

I saw that boy once
walking with a new crowd
with a different rhythm now,
his blue eyes darting around cautiously
and never willing
to give any of himself away
in case they'd hurt him too.

I watched him then
as he was talking
and took note of the fact
that his smile had gone
and he hadn't seen me watching
because he had always been
centered around getting to here.