Let’s sail
paper ships back home
and exchange stories
on the shores
Let’s explore
deep dungeons and forgotten forests
in my backyard until mum calls us
in for lunch
Let’s plan
our dream house with sandcastles
and when we grow up we will live in it
“This will be your room
and this will be mine”
Let’s draw
our family standing outside our house
with the sun on the top corner
of the page
Let’s imagine
that we are supernatural beings
we have powers that are not of this earth
we can save the world

Let’s do all these things

Before we step
on our forts and destroy them
Before we cry
ourselves to sleep
Before we hide
behind masks
before we drown
in hateful words
that burn on the inside
Before we spit
venom at those
just as weak as us
Before we fall
in to temptation
Before we realise
that snakes come
in all shapes and sizes
and we let them put scales on
our eyelids
Before we grab
at flesh
and
twist
and
turn
in the mirror
to find imperfections
that are not even there
Before we lose
ourselves to the words of others
who do not understand
the embeddings in our skin
the carving around our hearts
or the hole in each cavity

Before we forget
let’s sail back home

We don’t want to get lost

And sail
paper ships
to faraway lands
and break our hearts
on distant shores