I remember being 9
And thinking that I didn't understand people.
As I clung on to my bunnies,
And made their stuffed bodies speak,
In ways that only I could understand.

A look of content spreads across my face
As I pin another ticket to the corkboard.
I file the memory away
Of when reality and I lost touch for a moment,
And I felt life.

I’m lifted high off the ground into the air
Colors and roller coasters underneath us.
In my backpack a photo of the three of us
Perfectly picturing the happiness and joy that is friendship.
Just like I’d always wished for.

Going far but not enough for a plane.
A terrible bus seat partner is replaced by an inanimate object.
One of the most amazing places I've been.
A crumpled rain poncho,
That was once wet with water
From the breathtaking Niagara Falls.

Hopefully I don’t fall backwards,
My guitar pick reminding me that
Everything is not a replay of darkness.
As I stood amongst hundreds like me, waiting.
And smiled as a guy handed me a guitar pick
And the music began to play.