I Remember

I Remember

By Ainsley A. Cheng

I remember a time
When we played "Grown-Up"
With lipstick in one hand,
A mirror in another.

It feels like it was only
Just yesterday -
Even if it was many
A many.

I remember a time
When we would laugh
About the silliest of things -
Yet it seems,

Those were
The most beautiful,
Most memorable,
And most joyful.

I remember a time
When we cried
About broken hearts,
Angry teachers,
And even
About our own.

It feels like it was only
Just yesterday -
Even if it was many
A many.

I remember a time
When we endured
Terrible fashion
And bad haircuts -

Such rules,
Expectations -
We cannot even
Begin to imagine today.

I remember a time
When it was always
Just us
Against the world.

Our days were
Books,
Dolls,
and our braids.

I remember a time
When we sat together
And our memories were
Black and white.

Our memories were
Chained together
By numbers, classes,
And tests.

I remember a time
When we were
All
Apart.

In different
Parts of the world -
Seemed too, too
Far.

I remember a time
When we wrote
Cards and letters
Just to remember

When we were just
Blocks away,
Spending hours
And hours together.

I remember a time
When we bickered -
Pushing the check
Back and forth

Promising
That next time,
Next time,
It would be you.

I remember a time
When it was easy
To forget and
To rip apart

Whenever it seemed
That one forgot
The other or
Another.

I remember a time
When having you
By my side was better
Than having someone new

I would be
The self I once
Remembered,
Cherished.

I remember
Always, always...