BURN (Wattys2015?)

this was us

we took off all our clothes

and jumped on your trampoline at 2 am

it doesn't really make sense now

but it sure made sense then

we'd wake up in piles all over your mom's living room

crud in the corner of our eyes, our mouths gross and slimy

none of us would speak, we'd all just look at each other

until Hank would do something stupid

and then we'd crack up laughing

we drove too fast down the back roads

and drank too much on saturday night

we listened to our music too loud

and we were always getting in fights

Mike had a crush on Hannah who worked at the grocery store

but he was too scared to talk to her

so Oliver would go in and joke with her

and she ended up liking Oliver instead

Mike wasn't even mad because it was Oliver

none of us could be made at him

we'd hang out in the park on the hottest days

stupid and reckless and soaked with sweat

and we'd whistle at the stray dogs

who lived by the swing set

we'd have parties at Tim's house

when his parents weren't home

and i'd spend most of my time upstairs

looking at the all-american family photos

and thinking,

"man, i wish i had a family like that"

we sat in Dave's Jeep

and Marty brought magazines

that weren't meant for anyone

under eighteen

Dave got in a car wreck that same year

he was driving too fast

he had smoked too much

his girlfriend was killed but he was okay

he just couldn't walk anymore

and we all felt bad about his girlfriend, sure

but i think we all felt worse that dave's dreams

of becoming a Olympic athlete were shattered

we loved my dad

because he was cool and could play any sport

and you all supported me when he died

you all came to his funeral

you all cried

we would go down to the river

and jump in with our clothes

we made some pacts and told some secrets

that no one else knows

we were there

when Matt hit a dog

in his brand new truck

we took the dog to the vet

Matt was in tears, he loved animals

the dog survived and Matt adopted it

i think it's still alive today

we were all there at seth's funeral

but i can't talk much about it because i don't remember it

but i remember oliver's

and how we all cried like babies

and we didn't care who saw us

Marty wanted to be a comedian

he did a few gigs at a few bars

but he went up to Florida and met a girl

who brought him to church and he got saved

now he's a pastor, i've been to one of his services

the congregation's always laughing

i think God has a sense of humor

and he's probably laughing too

Hank was a big guy who looked like his momma

spoon-fed him steroids as a baby

but he wanted be a doctor

it always surprised us how gentle

those baseball-mitt hands were

but his momma got cancer

and he ended up working two jobs to help pay

for her hospital bills

Mike and I wanted to be boxers

and we never lost a fight

(except when we fought each other)

we wanted to beat up our step-dads

who beat our moms and beat us

and we'd watch all the Rockys in one night

but we both got too busy

and we started thinking more with our heads

instead of our fists

and i guess we just forgot

all about our dreams