You’re counting the numbers on hopscotch squares:
One two three jump, five six seven jump,
You could never be patient enough to wait your next turn.
You’re counting the minutes until we are free:
Ten minutes, nine minutes, eight minutes, seven,
You could never race out of that room fast enough.
You’re counting the candles dripping wax on your cake,
fourteen years, fifteen years, sixteen years old,
You could never wait to add on another.
You’re counting the miles as they spread out behind you:
100, 200, 300 miles gone,
You could never wait to break free of this town.
I’m counting the days since they gave us the news,
10 days, 11 days, 12 days dead,
I wonder if you counted or if you just jumped,
You could never work out when you ought to slow down.
One thought on “1,2,3,4,5: The Last Time I Saw You Alive.”
Erin, your poems are always so wonderful!