Old Knows

Found myself in a dark place one day
And there you were.
You, the boy,
Ignored by teachers,
Classmates,
And parents.

Forgotten in the ghettos
Premature slumped shoulders
Humped back
But with searing eyes,
With already gray hair.

So, I said…

Friend
While you stood there staring into one wall
After another
From learning pain
To learning pain
Life’s classroom
To classroom
Unwanted experience
To unwanted experience
They tried to assassinate a president
Succeeded in assassinating another president
Sent men to the moon
Landed a robot on Mars
Voted in a non-presidential president
Suffered through a pandemic

All while the girl we loved in 8th grade
Grew up and killed herself with pills
In a hidden away motel in Santa Monica

Yes…

There was a lot of time I thought of you
Cringing at the scrape of chalk on the blackboards
The whispers and giggles of classmates
As you tried

Yeah

I remember those times

Such have been the relentless moments of loneliness
Most coming to you in your yearning moments
Yearning for identity
For a place
Somewhere
Cloudless skies on long summer evenings
Atop the fire escape refuge of your meager living space

To make you dream of cherry blossoms in a faraway place
Making you ache and yearn to be with me
Driving cab at night in the Big Apple

You are never alone, friend.