Soft grasses tickle 

The bare soles of my feet.  

A playful dance that I 

Never even noticed 

In my giggling rush 

Towards home. 

Yearning to grasp 

Treasured glimpses of mother 

Putting on pearls and big-girl shoes.

Fluffed up pillows 

Covered in worn teddy bears. 

Easy sleep that I 

Never even noticed 

In my giggling rush 

Towards my father’s office. 

Elated to try on 

His fragile reading glasses 

And leaf through all the papers 

About grown up things, in grown up words. 

Awkward hallway smiles 

From a boy with a pimpled face.  

Bright eyes that I 

Never even noticed 

In my giggling rush 

Towards the bathroom. 

Excited to share 

A stolen tube of lip gloss 

That tasted of cherry and adulthood. 

Rickety lunch tables 

Rocked by howling laughter.

Ethereal moments that I 

Never even noticed 

In my giggling rush 

Towards the Head Office. 

Unable to stand 

The wait for a cap and gown, 

My golden getaway ticket to maturity. 

The weight of days 

Leaves tender indents on my heart 

And anxious twitches in my eyes. 

I find myself longing. 

Longing for 

Soft grasses, 

Fluffed up pillows, 

Hallway smiles, 

Lunch tables. 

Longing for the 

slipping diamond droplets. 

A wasting away that I 

Never even noticed.