Don't Cut Them, I pleaded.

The Act
William Carlos Williams

 " There were red roses in the rain

'Don't cut them,'
I pleaded.

'They won't last,'
she said.

'But they are so beautiful where they are,'
I said.

'Ahh, we were all beautiful once...' " 

but erosion is for more than the rocks.
and the wind you let breeze through your hair is taking the life out of your cheeks so it can continue to squirm. It's a sneaky bastard and it's going to make you feel alive because there is nothing better than a gasp of oxygen after 60 seconds under water.

We were all happy once.

Every last one of us decorated turkey's feathers with things we were thankful for, even if it always was mom, dad, food, clothes, house. We smiled when the 6th graders had field trips because that meant open swings at recess. We held hands playing red rover and giggled from blocking, not from boys. Chocolate chip cookies and milk were the magicians best kept secret.

We were all happy once.

Before Adventure Books and Birthday Cakes. Before yellow teeth and knobby knees. Before AP tests and acne scars. Before poetry and coffee. Before dusty windows and try-out teams. Before inside tweets and un-replyed to attention screams.

We were all happy once.

And I guess there's always a melody behind the music if the harmony isn't your style. And I guess William Carlos Williams knew what he was talking about when he said the roses can't last where they are. As if they could outlive winters famous erosion. As if happiness can be held in a stand still, bottled and worn and used for self medication.

We were all happy once.