believing in another soul
is a bouey in the midst of this sea
of cynicism
and empty bravery here.
they seem fewer and far between these days.
my childhood friends and me
we would set
out to the far end of the schoolyard
past the swings
the baseball diamond
to the blank cold blacktop
away from the crowds
jeering ropers
the sports
who were always bigger than us
enough to be a problem.
standing way out
the farthest distance
afforded the greatest view
and space for us to think out loud.
we considered physics
science and philosophy.
we would speculate out loud
about the implications of which direction the falling of the snow took.
we were amazed by our prowess
as the incredible information effortlessly poured out our mouths
tumbling with snow to the ground
only to be replaced by another grand vision
and another
and another.
we believed so much.
but science and time would come to prove us wrong on most counts.
it turns out that atoms aren't held together
by small ropes,
not all animals are reptiles,
and the space program certainly didn't start
at the high school down the street.
many years later came the mountains of weed and lsd,
which would come to ultimately prove us right.
but not till after i had stopped beleiving.
not till after all of the souls around me became the water in which i was sinking.
flopping.
straining to stay afloat,
gasping for breath
as i scanned the horizon for just one.