Emily

17

Nostalgia

And I still remember the day
We jumped over the railing
In the restaurant
And ran across the mall
For a new comic book at Barnes and Noble

I remember summer days
When we’d all lie on his trampoline
And contemplate life,
Teenage angst and
Sexual frustration

In the back of an oversized car
The smell of fried leather
Our favorite band breaking the windows
Swigging cranberry juice from the carton
Headed who knows where

I’d come home from band practice and walk
To her house, and she’d make me
Some new recipe for dinner
While I annoy her by talking about
The callouses I was developing

I don’t remember the day I met any of them
First sightings
First impressions
Friendships aren’t recalled from start to finish
Just moments
Scenes
The smell of the room and the
Temperature
The setting
The lighting
Each moment indulges every sense
With the feelings involved in that
exact
second

And slowly, changes are made
One switched schools
One switched friends
Closets liberated
Hopes are devastated
Problems are abated
Shes become hes
Lines are
Blurred, Minds opened
W i d e
To accept giant bear hugs
That would once make us
Snap
But no matter the change
Good or bad
Chosen or inevitable
I’ll always remember what we were
Each meaningful moment captured
In the high quality color film
In my memory