Youth Fleeting

[americasuitehearts]

When you were young, you stared out car windows on the drive home
And awed at the largest trees
Wondered how something so grand could live in the same lifetime as you

When you were young, you ran out in the rain
Head first at the world
Splashing water between your toes
And couldn’t even imagine caring if someone else saw

When you were young, you laughed at jokes your uncle made at Christmas
Or giggled your heart out and ran as fast as you could across the playground

But you’re older now and you pretend
Pretend that you’re so different from that kid you used to be

You stopped staring at the trees on the way home because they’ve all been cut down
Because they all got too grand and had to fall

And you stopped dancing in the rain because it was too socially unacceptable
Because of the disappointed look on your mother’s face as you step outside barefoot
Because everyone has expected you to have outgrown that childish excitement of wet sidewalk cracks

And you stopped laughing at your uncle’s jokes because as soon as puberty hit, the men in your life couldn’t seem to joke the same with you
Because instead of playing tag, your friends and you laugh at the kid that stands out of the norm

You’re so, so, grown
But once upon a time the idea of maturity was so much fun
Back when you were young