"to the top!" she says
no hint of fear in her voice
climbing a craggy mountain wall
she stumbles and I grab a branch
she nearly falls off the face
I grab hold of her hand
"I thought you were supposed to be the experienced one," I say
she really is though
without ever experiencing, she knows
jumping off cliffs
into the ocean
she's so beautiful
reflected in the water
still as glass
 
We go on an adventure every week it seems
she's prying me out of my shell
it's incredible to watch someone
that determined to put themselves off base
i'm helpless to follow
wear out the tires out of our bikes
exploring the forest
we find a lake and submerge
tear off each others clothes
"they think we're at school!"
she giggles
as I kiss her neck
 
Sneaking into her house is terrifying
I wish we could forget that we have parents
but we hide away in her room before they get home
and they drown themselves
in liquor
as we find out
what our bodies look like
without the haze of the lake water
 
I'm leaving soon
and she's planning escape
we'll go out into the woods for a while
and watch our parents' white picket fence
two story houses
topple over on each other
watch their television sets
pop up like pimples on the craggy rock faces
watch their fast food restaurants and automatic transaction machines
print out paper
paper covering everything
leaving no chance to be saved
by a hand