Castles in the Sky

Can we go back to building castles in the sky?

To those precious daylight hours?

To the soft summer nights that glowed like lanterns in the sky?

To the mornings before we knew who we would become?

To the sunsets when time simply ceased to exist?

To back when we were infinite?

Can we go back to laughing in choir skirts

And blue vests?

Can we go back to running through hallways,

Back when we prayed nobody would see?

Can we go back to childish crushes

And unknown board games?

Can we go back to those simpler days?

When our problems were child-sized?

When our dreams were whimsical?

When our lives were about more

Then the daily grind?

Can we go back to building castles in the sky?

To wishing on shooting stars

And living for the hope of tomorrow?

To the days before we woke up from the Matrix

And realized that we could never go back?

To the light that I know once glimmered behind my childlike eyes?

Can we go back to early morning carpools

And sibling banter?

To the days before time sped up

—Caught up—

And ruined everything?

Can we go back to the time we stood outside

Until the moon went through

All of her phases?

Can we go back to the time we sat in our houses

—Our too-big, too-small houses—

And caught up like old friends

Who would always be friends?

What happened to those little kids?

How could something like time

Cut through bonds

That I thought were unbreakable?

What happened to those teenagers?

How could time step in,

See what we'd survived,

And create a wasteland?

What happened to those recent graduates?

How could time,

Our greatest ally,

Betray us with space?

Whatever happened to those beautiful friends?

Can we go back to building castles in the sky?

Can we go back to dreaming with wide little eyes?

Can we have one more second to soak it in,

To embrace those flickering ghosts,

To remember that it was worth it?

Can we go back to those faded memories

To say hello and goodbye in the same breath?

Can we go back to building castles in the sky?

To the days before my dreams fell before my eyes?

Can we go back to the hours before I realized

That time was our greatest enemy

All along?