He could be a child or an old man,
Either never gaining wisdom or slowly losing it as the details harden in his mind to unchangeable rock,
Through the eyes of a young boy, the world changes and grows as he tries to understand,
The trees appear shorter as his legs stretch and struggle,
And he goes to a large store to buy pants as his mother smiles,
Yet no matter how hard his body works, his brother will still be taller and therefore superior,
Slowly losing the wondrous senses that made the monotonous turning worthwhile,
A shadow that turns the boy into a long and skinny giant,
The stench of gasoline in the sun, creating an explosion of reds greens and yellows on the gray pavement,
The first time hearing music in the womb,
But when the boy tripped over his awkward legs and fell onto the sidewalk,
And shooed away his mother’s concerned hand,
Finally understanding that he’ll never be as cool as his brother and that his mom will always tell him how to live,
That the moon is unreachable from his fingertips and candy bars cost hard earned money,
This is when observing the world became a waste of time,
And as he watches videos of hair and body odor and girls in health class,
He learns that growing up is expected of him.