childhood bragging

he is wearing a fireman's hat

being head of the spider patrol

we search out spiders

then we kill them

my youngest cousin still in diapers

hits me over the head with a tonka truck

while my back is turned

we burn ants under a giant magnifying glass

i eat dandelions, orange paint, paste and dirt

i can step on a bee with my bare feet

i can let my spit hang to the ground

then suck it all in

sitting on the steps 

friends are playing touch football in the street

i want to be inside

sitting in the darkened basement

the shiny black piano bench

a small grey shading tv

marine boy eyes shining

with an unexplainable sadness

perhaps in the eyes of the eternals

weariness pooling in light