The Game of Hide and Seek

The Game of Hide and Seek

The block was filled with children
Metal fence pole met the concrete sidewalk
Stood for home
The games began at dusk
Hide and seek until one by one the children let go of the fence pole
And went home

God did me a favor and made you sick that day
Shut up, shut in
You chose to stay inside yourself
Did not come out and play with us
I missed you
I wanted to chase you around the block again
I wanted to find you
Before you found home

Without you I made a new friend
We drew hopscotch circles with pink and blue sidewalk chalk
Tossed stones and stories until we fell to the ground laughing
He asked if he could chase me
I threw another stone instead

You did me a favor and stood motionless
Changed the game to freeze tag
When your favorite was red light green light
Cheating me every time
Desire overwhelming when you yelled green
I did not fathom the distance between us
I thought I could reach you
Before you found home

In spite of you I played along
In plain sight shared our secrets with my new friend
Tossed stones and stories until we fell into each others’ arms
He asked again if he could chase me
I ran away from you instead

I did myself a favor and bought ten red balloons
Lay flat on my back near home
And let them go, one by one
Chanting with each release
He loves me
He loves me not
Understanding the progression and knowing full well the outcome
I needed to let you go
Before you found me
Alone on the sidewalk again
The game of hide and seek finally over

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