“Trying to bridge the gap
Before enemies go zap”
The wars I engaged in during My recess hours
All scraped knees and cheesy smiles
And the smell of laughter in the air
Dandelion seeds floating in the wind,
Weeds sprouting from dreams
Grass and flowers warm between My toes
Caterpillars like a plague
Cocoons everywhere
A world rampant with butterflies
Memories like
Echoes of light in a dark abyss
Faint hues of an embrace
And the gentle aroma of mocochinchi
Reminding Me of all the fun times past,
And all that the future has in store
The world is My playground, beautiful and captivating
My hands calloused from
Metal on a playground hot hot hot
But
“I haven’t won
Because I’ve got miles to run”
i’m trying but not achieving
Not a single trophy to my name
A room, desolate and cold
Pink walls a grey reminder of what once was
And never will be again
A dark forest, with mysteries hidden boundlessly within its core
A half-buried car, full of treasures hidden amongst the leaves
Artifacts of a time now forgotten
Fire, with no one to hear their voice
Another body in the backyard
The lonesome garden gaining yet another companion
Waterbugs in the bathtub
Cockroaches in the kitchen and
The sound of cicadas lulling me to sleep
The Years Before
by Mykiah Carrington-Zurita, 10