a happy child
tangled in sand and strings of seaweed
cling to his velcro shorts
wet with the sea
the only love hes ever known
that kisses him every time he leaves and comes home
whispers from the trees and salty breeze
fill his mind leaving it at ease
for the hot months when the world is green
his imaginary friends laugh and pretend
sun soaks his skin and worries run thin
but there are voices shadowed in these happy notes
he cant quite make them out but they poke
holes in his shield of sunshine and gold
and soon the cool breeze infiltrates his armor
one by one leaves fall
colors lack in ardor
as does his smile
and those shadowed voices
grow stronger in the frosty chill
darkness like tendrils wraps and winds
around his mind
from the inside
out
the golden skin of a sun kissed romance
is chased away
leaving him white as if
he'd just seen a ghost
and the snow coasts
its way over
because everyone knows that
misery loves company
and each tear he sheds
is its own salty sea
streaming from eyes that no longer see
what the soul longs for
as they roll of his chin they hit the floor
and get sicked up
by the dry cold earth