The days slip by like eels as we age,
when I was young
they opened up like decades.
The sun shining, the purple Iris.
It's 80 degrees I remember hearing.
I remember how it was so hot.
The blacktop.
It seemed infinite
this moment of heat
of knowing how hot it was.
I remember being on the swing
at recess and thinking how I was 75 pounds.
I don't know who told me I was 75 pounds,
or how I found out,
but I thought of that
as I was swinging
perhaps I was realizing I was
getting
bigger.
I remember hanging on the rings
playing "chicken fights" with the boys
after I had beaten all the girls.
The guy that beat me
I remember when he wrapped his legs around my waist
this was way before puberty
and I remember that moment of defeat
knowing that I had to let go.
In a way though,
it was still a victory
because I was second place to the boy
that would go on to make touchdowns in high school.
I remember another competition
on the rings
I had to be swinging, forward and back
and my friend was pushing me from behind
and I would let go and see how far I could go
another girl was trying the same thing
with a friend pushing her
and we were competing
kind of like the long jump
but flying through the air from the rings
and the mark on the wood chips
where I broke my wrist
was farther than hers.
Time is slipping by like eels now
with each cup of coffee
my days are less competitive now.
The coffee is slippery
on my tongue
as I remember youth
my youth seems
so tasty now
the thrill of victory
the thrill of defeat
I can almost taste it.