I was walking backwards through
the streets of my life,
past a café where green chairs
argued with pigeons,
baked dough and burnt cheese braided
in the breeze.
Every person I’ve been this year
kept crossing the street in front of me,
faces blurry,
never looking away,
forced to march in algorithm.
I stepped off heel-first
when my ten-year-old self broke ranks,
sprinted up
and wrapped me in his arms,
“Don’t leave me, please!
Not again!”
I froze—
my heart pinned
to the edge of his fear.
He looked up,
I couldn’t believe it,
I tried hard to speak
but his grip weakend
and broke,
I opened my eyes
with darkness in my face,
and just lay there
for awhile.
Dec 17, 2025
Dec 17, 2025 at 3:38 AM UTC
I was walking backwards through
the streets of my life,
past a café where green chairs
argued with pigeons,
baked dough and burnt cheese braided
in the breeze.
Every person I’ve been this year
kept crossing the street in front of me,
faces blurry,
never looking away,
forced to march in algorithm.
I stepped off heel-first
when my ten-year-old self broke ranks,
sprinted up
and wrapped me in his arms,
“Don’t leave me, please!
Not again!”
I froze—
my heart pinned
to the edge of his fear.
He looked up,
I couldn’t believe it,
I tried hard to speak
but his grip weakend
and broke,
I opened my eyes
with darkness in my face,
and just lay there
for awhile.
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