outdoor child

i was an outdoor child

bare feet and boundless energy

that moss covering that log

is her favorite color

and that rock reminds them

of his favorite english class

and my heart’s been broken too many times

to let the sunbeams on the water

lighten our tread

alone and unknowing

treading water for herself

and wishing for just a little bit of instruction

from the ones that promised they would

i often wonder what it would be like

to live the life he was promised

the life she should have learned

an outdoor child

afraid of nothing except bee stings

and abandonment

they watched the sleeping apathy

and poisoned focus

so they were an outdoor child

free range and full of fire

he came home when the lights came on

if anyone remembered the lights

i was an outdoor child

and she learned slowly

to stay smaller

after all he takes up every inch of space

they were a bedroom child

and that made a bedroom adult

she felt that was the only place

he didn’t feel like a ghost

i was a ghost

they never saw me until her

she was a living room lover

they wove stories around their love

and he danced amongst the fireflies

they made magic under the stars

and they fought wolves together

and forgot what it was like to be

a bedroom child

she chased butterflies during golden hour

and they made love like it was spiritual

i saw my scars as silver and hers as abundance

we let the time fly by

and now they howl at the moon.