(in memory of when)
the thick summer air pooled around my shoulders melting
me into the swing set,
where my feet dragged the ground whenever i swang
and a girl in a yellow dress sat
next to me her legs sprawled out across the ground,
allowing the grass to kiss her skin
like a mother saying goodbye to her child one last time
and like i would to her as the sun set that night.

(in memory of when)
i sat on my roof and mourned that night
as the stars sang a hymn only i could hear
because the girl in a yellow dress was a bird
and decided this town was just another cage,
one that she could no longer be trapped in.

(in memory of when)
i wanted to go after her
my very being pulling at the edges
to grasp her hand as though it was my very lifeline
but my feet stood cemented in the ground
and she soared high above.

(in memory of when the girl in the yellow dress flew away)