Stolen Youth

I stole a child today,
from a life she was set to lead,
adorable innocence standing, eyes wide, hair clean,
put her in my pocket and snatched her away from a mundane world,

Showed her the city skyline ablaze with lights, reflecting purple haze across the skyscraper sights
took her for magic carpet rides on the floor on my living room rug,
Held her close,
Made her honey on toast,
with butter dribbling down her chin,

Taught her foreign tongues, and the madness of the imagination
Saw her first successful bubblegum bubble,
and her first whistle,
Built the tallest card castle, and then knocked it down,
And danced in the rain -
yes,
danced in the rain,
like our lived depended on it,
like the clouds were performing for us,
like the clash on the crash was the thunder and
the strobe of the lightening was lighting our night,
As each puddle shivered,
As each pellet splashed our faces,
laughing in the face of cold and wetness,

Held her hand,
Listened to classic rock
she should have known,
before the boy made her feel small,

Gave her a gold fish in a round bowl,
to realise the subjectiveness of reality,
And the tangible is ephemeral.
It sparks out, and dies,
like all beauty,
like all things
end.

Stood facing into mirrors,
so she would see how she'd grow,
into me,
to be
a little girl chasing butterfly and boys all her life.