Have you noticed
that you take youth for granted?
That you never realize
how good something is,
until it’s gone?

When you’re in Kindergarten,
you think that nothing is going to change,
that you’ll be in class,
playing house and eating snack,
best friends with everyone,
forever.

In 1st and 2nd,
things are the same.
You spend recess
in imaginary worlds
and birthdays
inviting the whole class.

Once you’re in 3rd,
the cliques start to show.
You’re still friends with everyone,
but there’s that one or two you favor more.
You spend days
planning each other’s weddings,
and promising to be the Maid of Honor,
still believing
that you’ll never be apart.

In 4th,
new kids join your class,
adding speed
to the inevitable change.
The cliques have formed.
The bullies unleashed.
The days of unity
are over.



5th grade is the best.
You rule the school,
looking down on those below,
thinking, “How could I have been best friends
with that weirdo?”

In 6th grade,
things are different.
You have no classes
with your friends.
You reach out
to new people
to fill that void.
But you’re having fun,
and you still have three more years.

In 7th grade,
your classes rock,
and you talk to all of your friends.
You are taken under
the 8th grader’s wings,
and they befriend you all the more.
You spend your classes
passing notes
and whispering in the back of the class,
always secretly hoping
that this year will never end.

Then you’re in 8th,
and the world is finally yours.
You’re back to being friends
with those who had been, years before.

But now,
time is down to the wire.
You can’t avoid
its passing any longer.
You’re headed off
to high school soon.
You may never
see these friends again.
The ones you’ve known since kindergarten,
who should have been there ‘till the end.


In a few short weeks,
it’ll all be over,
your inside jokes
your friends,
this school.
It’s gone.
Finite.
No more.
Goodbye.
All of this,
that took nine years to form.
You took it for granted,
and now it’s done.
Why didn’t you realize it before?
Why didn’t you see that it would be over in a blink?
Why didn’t you grasp that it would end?

Because now it’s over.
Boohoo, poor you.
It’s your own fault
you didn’t see it as more.

You didn’t notice,
that you took it for granted.
You never realized
how good it was
until now, when it’s almost gone.