A poem for my childhood, or at least the good parts that I cling to in order to suppress the rest. Enjoy (or don't, I guess that part is really up to you).

"little girls & small towns & deep waters"

black cats with white diamonds

on their chests,

and linoleum floors covered

in washable paints

and flour.

chests of old video-games and

the same three VHS tapes on

replay.

zebra mussel-covered rocks

hosting

turtles and seagulls and dead fish and puppies

in lakes that feel like oceans

to six year olds.

watermelon cut into triangles, not cubes,

neighborhood monuments,

picture books,

and

dinner outside.

six year olds who never really leave

but keep trying to;

desperately seeking deeper waters

when theirs

might already be

big

enough.