adventurers in the mud

content warning: brief mention of abuse

the week before my 21st birthday, my state went on lockdown and i cancelled our road trip.

i’m glad i never brought you here.
it reminds me that there are still parts of me you’ve never touched.

when i look at the grass sprouting through the topsoil in my backyard,
the mushroom caps through the dying leaves,
the moss,
the greyed palm fronds hanging from the trees, forgotten,

the way the sun peeks through the storm clouds,

i think of myself as a child
playing “adventurers” in the mud.

she doesn’t stop for dead branches
she soldiers on through the downpour
shelters beneath the leaves
finds berries