Birth must be painful,
But we forget.
That’s the way
Memory develops.
Long term comes later.
Must be a reason.
To erase
What came before
Like past lives
Starting over.

Sometimes I ache
For experiences I’ve never had.

What are we
But a book
With empty pages
To be written on.
Another rerun
With a different ending.
What happens when
The ink runs dry?

Bike riding
The exhilaration of speed
Until an ice cream truck
Crashes into the back wheel.
Scaring you senseless.
Am I going to die
Being stupid?

First swimming lesson.
Learning dance at school.
First crush
Followed by heart break.
Painful lessons on the piano
Long lost.

The common cold sucks.
So does flu.
Getting drunk
Was it worth it?
The pain;
The headaches
The upset stomach.

Do you remember what it was like
The first time you cried
Over loss?
I think my first time was
A pet lizard when I was three.
My mom tied it outside
In the sun where it
Dried up and died.

That lizard rode on my shoulder
And played in my hair.
I felt its little feet tickling.

I remember fear
Of the dark;
Long needles and dentists
Of someone reading
My dark thoughts

What are we supposed to learn?
A map would be nice
Before the last breath