we were younger and sleepless
waiting for the myths to come true
for every lie we were told
to burst through the snowy hue
and wake us up with tales expounded,
about places we cannot pronounce
with people we only read about in real thick books
we were younger, once, and back then
pirates were a real threat to our safety
and our only means of income
was losing teeth and receiving dream money
silver circles, like the moon that tucked us in.
we were younger and back then
there were ships to be sailed
and spaces to be explored
jungles to get lost in
and fathers to be adored.
we were younger then, and sober
with pristine eyes and hands still soft
our knees were bruised black
from fighting the earth every afternoon
with little bones and bee sting battles.
we were way too young to sleep in
and to dream about girls to kiss in shadows
behind trees dripping thunderstorms
and lightning bugs illuminating the night.
we were young then, long ago
and though we can wish with all our might
we will always just be memories
of that relentless age
like caging birds in the dead of autumn
or trying to catch a waterfall
with holes in our hands
it never stays the way we want.