Me and Leighann
Leighann and I
We were always together
We never left each other's side.
When we first met
I was four and she was five.
Our moms knew each other
So I guess it was only natural that we'd meet.
We were nothing alike
Leighann was bossy and intolerant
I was passive and thoughtful
We became friends nvertheless.
And so, we began to build our bridge.
We would race and wrestle
Explore the woods and go swimming
Get into trouble and be stupid
We made mistakes
And did lots of crazy things
But we were together
And that was all that mattered to us.
We argued a lot
Our differences, I suppose
But somehow our friendship prevailed
And our bridge grew stronger.
The years flew by
And although we were in different grades,
We still managed to remain
Best friends.
Until Leighann went to middle school
That's when everything changed
She got caught up in
Cliques and peer presure
Our bridge began to thin and crumble.
I put up with her for a while
In a year, I too would be at the middle school
And so our bridge remained in tact
For now.
She suddenly began to think
That she was my superior
And that I would bend to her every will
But I said no.
I wasn't going to be bossed
Around by her anymore.
And our bridge began to burn
Until it was nothing but rubble.
We avoided each other
For the rest of the school year.
Summmer came
And I was still standing firm
But Leighann was begining to tremble.
She couldn't handle being alone
She needed someone
But there was no one else in the neighborhood.
Leighann began to call me
Come to my house
Each time I refused to see or speak to her.
As the summer days rolled by,
My mom began to get irritated with me
Because I wouldn't play with Leighann.
Can she not tell that the bridge is gone?
Nothing remains but the charred rubble of the past.
But she saw something
A single rope still connecting us
And she was set on getting us
To rebuild the bridge.
She forced me to speak to Leighann
Told me I was being rude
Threatened to ground me
Reminded me of our old friendship
The bridge can be rebuilt
Grudgingly, I did as she said.
I had no choice.
Leighann and I talked and hung out some
Gradually I began to lower my fences
And let Leighann in again.
We began to rebuild the bridge
But it was rough and rocky with cracks in it.
We would never be the same again.
The years of being little kids
Without any cares in the world
Were over.
No more playing "Hit the Deck"
Or exploring the Sand Pits
Or three-yard freeze tag.
No more pretending to be mice
As we stole cheese from the refrigerator
Or dancing on the trampoline to crazy songs
Or playing airball with ten ghost players.
No more.
Those years were over.
But those many years are what fixed our bridge.
They filled in the cracks
And smoothed its surface.
Our childhood years together
Are what completes us
And they are the reasons
Why we are still friends to this day.
We managed middle school together
With few disputes
Crazy as ever with even crazier antics.
We were almost as close as before.
At the end of my eighth grade year,
I moved to a new house
Across town.
It was hard to leave
My best friend behind.
We don't see each other as much anymore
Even though we both
Go to the high school now
But we still get together
Every once in a while
To see a movie,
Go to Starbucks,
Or just to talk.
After all those years together
We still have little in common
But that is okay.
Our differences add variety
Our bridge is made of
Steel and iron
Asphalt and concrete
It will last forever.
Friends forever
Me and Leighann
Leighann and I