When We Were Young

Photo by BĀBI on Unsplash

I remember back in the day
When the sacred paths were open to us.
When we could fit through the cracks that lead to secret places.
When our folly could be excused by our youth.
When the rules were yet to be learned
And not etched onto our souls.

When our eyes could see the blue within the blue
When we looked up at the sky
Flat on our backs
In the grass
Imposing shapes upon formless clouds.

We pondered the answerless riddles
Still thinking they could be solved.
Asking questions the world had no answers to.
We wondered what we would be when we were older
Never imagining we’d be longing for the past.

We thought we would be who we wanted to be
Not knowing we’d have to claw and fight to retain our sanity
And humanity,
Our dignity
And joie de vivre.

The children we were thought we’d be their liberation
But we became their cages
Little kids locked up in the world we created
But never wanted.
With bars so close…