everything in me and around me was fine
everyone else was always the problem.
I remember being labeled
fat
as kids pinched
what shouldn’t have been
an inch
and I lied
when I said I couldn’t.
I remember my almost kiss
behind the tree
we weren’t allowed to go behind
tracing the roots
with our shoes
even then
I felt the urge to climb higher.
I remember
when the accident took everything from you
except your name
and I cried
because no one else
would ever call me Steve
or draw shitty cars with me
in shop class
or laugh as I cut crooked
pieces of wood.
I remember the grass stains
on my softball uniform
on my field hockey uniform
on my new jeans
and the fresh cut grass
as I tried not to pass out
while running the mile in gym.
I remember.
I remember
because my memory has never faded
it’s the one thing
that has remained the same.
