do you remember?

when rock scissors paper

was your first democracy?

when an encyclopedia was your internet,

when a dare was an invitation

to those outer limits within?

remember when they couldn't keep you in?

do you remember

polaroid moments,

climbing monkey-bar trees?

wooden ramps? BMX flights?

precarious doubles on banana-seat bikes?

broken arms, broken windows

the slapshot and crack

of street-hockey games?

- and that was just the afternoon.

...remember waking up early on weekends?            

the florescent buzz                                                     

of Saturday morning sugar-cereal cartoons?

no 5G network, no online games, no social media friends

when nothing came automatically?

and nothing came on demand?

remember then?

me neither.