Childhood in the Woods

That cabin in the woods– 
Our childhood is left there,
Forever steaming up the windows. 

The cabin with the loft, 
Which we jumped off of– 
Imagining wings
Like birds taking flight. 
We landed on the bed– 
Exhaled, and wondered:
What will life be like when we’re free?

Knees kissed by pavement's rough embrace– 
The bike tires have gone flat– 
We’ll forever be there, 
Running to find an adult 
Who could help us 
Find our way– 
But we’ve fallen down the hill now, 
Tumbling until we find ourselves. 

Bees in our maple syrup– 
Struggling to get free, 
Stuck to the waffles. 
We watched in awe, 
Hungry, and scared 
Of being stung. 

Dippin’ Dots by the beach
Waves so harsh that we were  
Slapped to our senses. 
Seaweed crowns in our hair–
Laughter scattered like leaves–  
When will we know when we’ve grown up? 

Memories are misplaced– 
The adults were drunk 
When they dropped Janga pieces,
On our heads. 
We’re awake now. 

Songs by the fire– 
Now our voices are
Lost in the trees. 

The old cat no longer scratches.
Our watches no longer tell the time. 
The pool heaters have stopped working. 

They’ve forgotten our faces by now– 
And do we even recognize each other?

That cabin in the woods… 
The one we spent our childhood in,
Is torn down– 
Our memories surrendered to its ruins