you wrote our names in a constellation of colors

with a little piece of chalk

me and you til the rain washed it away

mere seconds we were etched on that rock.

we rode that carousel round n' round

til sun hung low and it was dark

when your mother called you back for cabbage soup

we took the long way home through the park.

i miss the long summer nights we used to have

rain soaking the heat from our aching bones

i never wanted it to end

'cause then i'd finish those nights alone.

it was a conundrum for sure

how i was supposed to carry on

once the endless nights had left me

and you were gone.

as years pass and i look back

i remember us with bittersweet delight

whether it's now or in fifty years

our love still burns bright.

Why did you leave me?

Crying on the floor

Tears pouring down my cheeks

Where did you go?

Said you'd be back in an hour

but it was longer.

Why did you make me come here?

They don't understand me

my screams go unheard.

When are you coming back?

I don't think I can make it much longer

These walls are a prison not a sanctuary.

Hours have passed, or was it days?

You came back for me

found me curled up on the ground.

Why am I crying?

It's the first day of preschool.

You left me on the linoleum floor with

a teacher who won't let me go to the bathroom alone.

What did you expect?