Merry-Go-Round

I think it's beautiful how the playground we used to play on was demolished just so new offices could go up for the working man. I saw traces of the see-saw Amy broke her arm on because she was trying to create a "balancing act". Metal was stuck in the new sidewalk that leads up the giant glass doors. Important people drink coffee in their offices behind these doors. That same metal scared Johnny's mom into thinking he'd have Hepatits C just for getting a cut on the back of his leg after going head first down the slide. I saw a basketball in the corner street trash can, and I thought the ketchup sliding down it would have made Danny Myer's kindegarten nose bleed look like it happened on purpose. It was an accident, and we all knew Brad Riley didn't mean to swing the bat in Danny's face. Kids don't pay attention; it's not their job.

But then things start to happen that make us pay attention, and we either get scared or we brand together with those around us and enter high school, college, and the real world. I think sometimes I forget to pay attention on purpose because then I won't remember you. The one thing that they didn't take away from the playground was the sand. It outlines the building in a perfect rectangle. I took some of the sand one day and put it in a paper bag. It's on my counter in a clear jar. When I see it, I think of you, and how you slipped right through my fingers. I realize there's nothing I can do to recreate what we had as children, but I will never stop wishing to find a way.