When We Thought We Were Immortal

When we thought we were immortal
We thought nothing of running up the rocks
Where the jagged edges point at each other
And seem to be threatening each other
With collision

We would grab onto each other
And free fall into the ocean
Where hands would come up
And sweep us back onto shore

Playfully patting us on the back
As they left us laughing into the sweet sand
Daring us to come back and try again

When we thought we were invincible
We could grab at the air
And use it like a ladder
To climb up into the clouds

We would throw down thunder at each other
And it would make us dance and thrust our bodies out with joy
But never scare us
Never make us think
We could be harmed

And rain was nectar
And night was sugar
And sunlight was something you could capture
In the flimsiest of cages

To take out when you felt like it
To tame when darkness would come
So that it would snap at it like a guard dog
And keep it at bay

When we thought we were untouchable
We would touch each other
And leave marks
That showed appreciation
Instead of bruises and scars

It was only after they told us
That we could be harmed
That we started seeing the welts
And the pockmarks
And the piercings

It was only then that the water kept us
And the jagged rocks collided
And the air stopped pulling us up into it

It was only then that we wanted to harm ourselves
And each other
And become stone
And scrape away at the sand
Until we found something that we couldn't leave impressions in

It wasn't until we knew
That we found ourselves
To be stupid

Stupid children
Playing games
That would cost them
Their lives

Good thing they know now, they would say

But what?

What did we know?
And how did it help?

Such a shame, we thought

Had we never known we weren't immortal
We might have lived forever