I Had a Childhood

I had a childhood, fleeting moments in the mist Glimpses of a life where I truly exist Authority figures ghosted, I got lucky these days Left me solo on the playground, lost and found by the neighbor's kids In their yards we'd play Siblings demanding participation in the fray Games needing an extra player, a counterpart Navigating innocence before it fell apart I had a childhood, memories wrapped in gold Beneath the shadows of trauma, stories untold Alone in the dark, coins beneath the seat Magic in the mundane, where hope and pain meet A man and woman, sometimes kind, sometimes cold Moments of warmth in a narrative untold Broke my first board in Tae Kwon Do at ten Joined the soccer team when my brother insisted he didn't wanna do it by himself Never reached the black belt, never the final score Comfort as a kid was just a temporary door Pulled beneath me again, childhood slipping through Chasing fleeting joys in everything I'd do Snap, crackle, pop—five-year-old me revolts Cereal bowl upside down, chaos exalts Tied up in lockdown, innocence confined Boom, bam, bang—another belt destroyed Praying for Power Rangers to handle my fights Watching superheroes, dreaming of heights Little did I know, I had to don the cape My superpower's the child who refused to break I had a childhood, memories wrapped in gold Beneath the shadows of trauma, stories untold Alone in the dark, coins beneath the seat Magic in the mundane, where hope and pain meet Maybe my childhood wasn't painted in bright hues But it's never too late to rewrite the cues For the child in me still dances in the rain I commit to her joy, through every loss and gain