permanent wings

when we were young
nobody told us
that we weren't invincible.

so we became superheroes
and taught ourselves to fly
by tying a shirt around our neck
and jumping off of couches.

we made friends with the wind
and shared our secrets with the sun
then gave life to inanimate objects.

the world was malleable,
and it was beautiful.

as beautiful as the sky
and its clouded blank canvas
with our bodies brushing up against it
bursting with bright color.

but as we get older,
we forget our powers
and train ourselves to play it safe
by tucking in our wrinkled capes
and giving in to gravity's weight.

but patricia,
when you were alive
nobody had to remind you
that you were invincible,
because
you always
remembered.