I walk through alleyways once adored with our paint
our blood
our spit
our sweat
We lived against those wall

I lived against those walls
Constantly trailing my fingertips
My nails
My palms,
My fists along those bricks
It braced my back as my booted foot beat out a static rhythm

Knee bent foot rattling against its solid presence
A solid force that my life lacked
I loved there
I played there
I breathed there
I hated there

A strip between two buildings
A space
An absence
A home

We filled that space so well

I felt found when slipping down that strip

Running clomping down
Dancing spinning happy
Sauntering slightly unsure but sure of where I was
Walking stealthily footsteps silently to not mark me anywhere
When I wished to be no where

Shaded from the glaring sun
Exposed to the blessings of rain
Accented by moonlight
Never fully consumed by snowfall

Booted feet
Blackened fishnet encased limbs
Bare head and in spots every color of the forest
Silver hoops glinting off darkened lips
Huge eyes hungry for it all under heavy shades of nightfall
Blending into shadow
Sticking out in the light

Those walls became my fortress
And I return
And it’s not the same
And it is the same
And if I slipped just right this way or that I think I might find myself back there

Back to the land of street days and alleyways night
Back to fear and exhilaration
Back to a girl before the dark days a girl who seems a lot like me now

It all comes back around and my fortress is still standing