I remember.

I remember when

 Like way back 

When I was ten

Back when

 The streetlights were our curfew 

Before anxiety kicked in...

I remember summer camps

The bonfires 

The laughter cramps.

Back when schoolyards

Were the cool spot

Back when we were the kickball champs...

I remember the hikes

That took us hours

 Mosquitoes 

And Ice-cold showers. 

 Running through a field of flowers

Capturing flags 

From imagined towers.

And

I remember having a crush.

 That puppy love.

That childhood rush.

Back when it was all innocent

Back before we found our lust.

I remember those love letters...

Cheesy poems that weren't this clever.

Back when we would ask: "Yes or No"

Back when recess was based on weather. 

Back before the Towers fell...

Back before we locked our doors...

Back before the shooting drills...

Back before we kids knew war...

I remember when the world was a lot more ignorant

And a lot less scary...

When we barely 

Knew that things would get so fuckin' hairy...

Back in 96' when Pokémon first hit the United States.

Back in 97' when Jordan was ballin' with the Greats.

Back in 98' with Lunchables on our dinner plates.

Back in 99' with Harry Potter sellin' by the crates.

Back before I even knew what it was like to really be in love.

In 2000 I was 12, and Y2K was just really what it was...

Way back when girls still made me nervous

Without a real reason, 

 No sense of purpose. 

Back when any R Kelly songs would make us dance and sing the chorus...

I remember back far enough 

 That things back then just don't seem right...

I remember staying

 Up waiting

For you to come

Or call

 All night...

I remember the heat

Of the tears that rolled down my face 

 When I realized 

 Through blurred eyes 

 How late it had gotten, and that you were never going to show up anyway...

I remember waking up early daily and eating a bowl of cereal

Back when the meal balances always felt fair.

Back before I put on a suit for my first funeral

Back before I woke up in foster care...

Back when Tom and Jerry was a silent show

And all we did was laugh.

Back when homework was our main burden

Back when we had scheduled baths.

Way back when we all had no bills...

Too young to drink,

No Weed,

No Pills

Back when make-believe felt real

With water balloons, 

We'd count our "kills"

Back when walking around the block

Felt like an adventure in a movie plot.

Back when we didn't dare even cross the street in

Fear that our asses would be beaten. 

Back when going to the corner store

Was excuse enough to go explore. 

I remember things being so different...

So much less violent and out of flow...

Maybe I was just young and ignorant

Too inexperienced to know. 

.