dense, warm air and sticky grins were prominent during those sunny summer days tripping over our friends and muffled laughter grass stained shorts and muddy fingernails wet, curly locks of dark hair and bare feet squishing against the grass kids are known to be careless a big bowl of fresh strawberries is placed onto the plaid blanket spread across the prickly grass blades and we shoved our hands in quickly to see who could get the huge strawberry in the middle first some blades of grass stuck right through the blanket and poked our legs hard enough to make it sting but it didnt phase us neither did our grimy hands as we devoured the delicious fruit. we were messy kids. the juice dripped down our arms, creating a translucent river of rosy red juice you licked yours up but i stared at mine, intrigued as the river followed my veins and settled in the crooks of my bent elbow i couldnt resist slurping it up eventually though strawberries were always my favorite
several years later it isnt the same the red river dripping down my arm, following my veins and settling in my bent elbow didnt taste the same as the sweet strawberries of summertime. the gashes on my arm werent from an intense game of tag with a friend or from rolling around in the grass too roughly these gashes were more than just booboos mommy couldnt kiss these and make them all better mommy couldnt make them disappear i couldnt make them disappear i made them appear they are here to stay, and not some sticky juices from a summertime delight they were sticky juices from a wintertime despair. a twisted mind a long sleeved hoodie in 90 degree weather a sad excuse as to why it was a hoodie instead of a t shirt or a tank top a bit lip to hold back the tears a friend who tried their hardest, but couldnt notice and brushed it off a forever tainted mind
whenever someone offers me strawberries i take them, even if i am filled to the brim or sick of strawberries altogether because maybe if i overdose on strawberries my mind will blur and all the memories of the thick, dark red river of wintertime despair will all become replaced with strawberry juice and i will wake up and it will have been nothing but a fever dream.