Just us

The evening sky is now pitch black. 
It is hard to see much around me. 
I arrive with my friends, Josh and Sue. 
We are at the local elementary school playground. 

There is sandy grass beneath our feet. 
It is just us at this time of night. 
We feel free to play. 
At the cusp of adulthood. 
The tail end of childhood. 
The freedom to yell and shout. 
The freedom to play without care or worry. 

We laugh and joke. 
Our spirits are high. 
And so are we. 

I don’t know who started the idea 
of spinning like a dervish dancer. 
Spin and spin. 
The world is a blur of streetlights 
swirled into darkness. 
And then we start to run in our dizzy haze. 

And we laugh and laugh. 
Because, try as we might, 
to run in a straight line, 
our bodies run in zigzags, 
haphazard, and sideways. 
And it makes us laugh. 
How out of control our bodies can be 
when we are dizzy and high. 
And having a grand time. 

There’s not much to do 
when you’re young and broke. 
To entertain ourselves in this small town. 
The cops don’t bother us. 

We are not encumbered
In knowing what the future brings. 
The lines and plans we make 
are never straight and linear. 
Try as we might to head for a target, 
We veer off course 
and into unintended directions. 

Destinations uncharted, 
and that is thrilling. 
The surprise. 
How our bodies seem to have a mind of its own. And we’re just along for the ride. 
Almost surrendering to forces we can’t control. 

The world stops spinning 
for a moment
All is still and dark once more. 
It’s quiet. 
Our bellies hurt from the laughter. 
Now in the past 
a distant memory of a silly circumstance.