Fleeting Dreams of Childhood

A Poem

Photo by Matheus Bertelli: https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-and-dog-sleeping-on-gray-pavement-573258/

oh, i remember it like it was yesterday
when i was so small and naive —
but how much has really changed?

i played and ran with the boys
and skinned my knees every time
and tried so hard not to cry.

i didn’t play Barbies with the girls
because i always had to play Ken
since i didn’t speak up otherwise.

kindergarten was a revelation —
numbers, letters, words —
but i fell behind as i daydreamed.

i didn’t even learn to read
till the summer before first grade,
but maybe that was my first love affair.

and home —
that was its own disaster
in big ways i would never share.

dad was distant,
mom was overwhelmed,
and my grandpa felt like my only ally.

it was so easy to imagine a world
that would never change —
but of course it did.