We Were Young Once

When we screamed because of snowballs
And wasps on a basketball hoop;
When we laughed: we taught the three-year-old
To tackle and he said, “Yes.”
“Do you have two belly buttons?”
“Will you miss me?” We were so wise once.
We lived in houses on hills in lands never touched by poverty
By hurt, by anything we couldn’t laugh at.

How old are you?
You were young once. Yesterday,
When you laughed at your wife’s morning breath
And she pulled you closer and exhaled.
You were young once. Last week,
When you cried –

Remember when you couldn’t help
But smile at the times you were
Hurt? When you thought you were hurt?
When you believed with your whole heart
That you were beneath the dirt. Between rocks –
And you weren’t coming out. You weren’t coming
Out.

We were young once.
How old are you –
Now?