then
i watched as they, two lips, touched
and two lovers hugged, a warm embrace.
i had never quite seen anything like it before.
they touched again. maybe i'm too young for this.
should i be covering my eyes? mommy, tell me what
to do. tell me what i am supposed to do when
i am surrounded by people; yet i feel so alone. where
did all my friends go? i wish we could play
like we used to, in the sandbox after school with
swings and birds would fly around us. the grass would
be green and i might pluck a flower for that girl i like.

now
i can't remember her name anymore and the birds don't
quite fly like they used to. the sandbox has been soaked through
and i can't run around in there now. no one is around anymore -
i thought i would feel more alive on my own - i still feel alone.
i saw the two lovers the other day. they walked with a distance
between them, friction that burned once you got too close.
i don't know how things fall apart this easily or why they do,
do people simply stop trying over time or does friction grow and
burn away everything that is beautiful, because everything is supposed
to be pain and hurt? anything that truly lives is bound to die, and
anything that doesn't is dead inside anyway - but why can't we simply
be allowed to live a little? why does god have to let us hurt so much
inside?