cherries that taste
like red sunsets
curl my tongue
-a bitter dart
climbing the ladder
was the easiest part

now what do we do
if we get caught
hide in our room
conceal our crimson smiles
run to the river
to wash away the lies

forget our shoes
remember the nettle bites
whizzing by with static
in our hair
I was never the one
to refuse a dare

I'm going to smile
myself silly
I'm going to jump around
and shake my hands in the air
I'm going to slide
across the floor
in my fuzzy socks
and I'm going to
read Shakespeare
really loudly
and I might just
let my fingertips
make a smiley face
on a foggy window
of a bus leaving
to a new place
and I'm not going to wish
you were here

color the world
with shiny scarves
fluttering in the wind
as we chase the bus
leaving the stop too soon

pigeons exploding
in the sky
in a swirld of white
and grey
and the sun
beating on us
with his tongue
lolling out
like a yappy little dog
I think we should
chase it

yearning fingers
pumping sticky blood
swelling like strawberries in May
grabbing lines and hooks
learning to play
a treacherous game
involving hearts and breaths
and whispers of air

crying over spilled dreams
holding on to broken handshakes
I was always just a little mad
a little scared

the fish are biting
and so is the day
all sharp and sugar white
the first pinpricks of rain
dancing in the hay

lounging lazily
licking sour lollipops
and drinking the night
we dream up constellations
black holes
lingering in light

the morning is still
just a distant thought
lost in a lake

on lopsided feet
we lurch and dance
with lemon stained lips
while the silky sky
winks at our lilliputian lives
dotting the beach

how will I know
if I've grown old?
maybe I'll just wake up one day
see a stranger in the mirror
wearing my eyes and my clothes

maybe I'll feel it
in the creaking of my bones
when I try to get up to fast
or play hopscotch

maybe I'll forget
what it felt like
to stand in the pouring rain
and feel so full of sun

will you tell me?
will you tell me if
you see the grey in my eyes
and will you remind me?

gliding up
and sliding down
a life full of muddy trails
extends like a coiling cord
a Bakelite phone
hoping to ring

eyes watching
from the window
waiting for your stormy head
to appear from behind
the curve in the road

thinking about all the things
that must be said
then running back
to a closed room
somewhere out of sight