Poem: Swing Set

Take me back to the swing set days, When the gates were open,
And play was all day.

Take me back to when the only thing that mattered,
Was how high you could swing,
And my mind was free from worry,

To when the chains were nonexistent, When jumping seemed fun,
And not some messed up way to run.

To before the angels turned to demons,
Before the light became the dark,
Before I feared the dark for what it truly is,
And not just someplace where a fictional monster hides;

But little did we know how real that monster would one day be.

Take me back to when the sun shined,
To when I didn’t feel like I had been mined for everything I had to give,
To when friendships were simple,
When people seemed nice,
And life felt easy,
Because life is so not easy.

Take me back to when waking up every day was exciting,
And not something I fear,
To when sleep came in a wink,

Not something I have a hard time finding, When insomnia was someone I didn’t know, And not a friend I can’t let go.

Before alone felt like home.

To when I stared at sunsets, Not my ceiling in the dark.

Before standards even existed,
Before I felt that so many things matter, Because so many things do not matter.

When what someone thought of me felt like nothing,
Before that became the only thing that filled my mind,

Before I was broken.

To when I didn’t have to pick up the pieces, Take me back to when I truly felt whole.

To before there was this hole inside of me, Taking me,
And who I feel I am.

Before the chains were there, When broken was okay,
Not something to be ashamed of.

So, I could tell myself it’ll be okay, Because being broken is okay,
Not something to hide.

Take me back to the simple life, When life felt worth living.

When the only thing that mattered was how high you could swing,
When play was all day,
And the gates were open, free from chain,

Take me back to the simple life.