i stood before myself
as a child sat apart
not
fully connected
but not entirely without
awareness of self
i felt
delight again
wondering innocent
upon each
discovery
punctuating aloneness
in a way back when
this
child's neglect
remained unwritten
how
stained and worn
we become through time
shaped
by episodes
and scars forgotten
CC BY-ND 4.0 - Russell Cavanagh