A Kid Again

The sun sets

and the young heads rest

As the grown-ups sip their drinks,

And stare at the legs of a blonde,

in a low cut dress.

The child dreams of swinging,

and crossing the monkey bars,

and yesterdays game of dodge-ball.

The grown-ups try to make eye contact with each other

Try to get a glimpse

at who is glimpsing at them.

Hoping someone will go home with them.

Hoping they won't have to spend another night

all alone,

with only their drinks to keep them company.

The child smiles as he dreams.

The adult smiles at the blonde

She looks away

Avoiding his eyes

The stars emerge from the darkness

and the full moon shines off the hair of the blonde.

The adults keep trying

Hoping to find his match,

he asks the friend of the blonde to dance

and looks at the blonde as he does so.

She respectfully declines his offer

He asks if he could buy her a drink

She rejects him again.

He objects to the rejection

The blonde looks up

and whispers in the ear of her friend

They giggle together

Looking at the man

As they walk away

He sighs

and sits back down

and starts putting back the liquor.

Soon the stars start to fade

As the sun rises from it’s sleep

Slowly creeping up over the horizon

The child wakes up

and dreams of what it’ll be like

to be all grown up

While the grown-up goes to sleep,

drunk and alone,

wishing he was a kid again.

-C.H.