Calosha Gomes

Remember the paper boat I made in class
so I could watch it sail
in the stream of water built by the heavy rain,
just to see sock—just to see it shred.

The joy of an innocent mind.

Now I am too scared to build anything
and even more scared of the heavy rain
that might break this boat to shreds.

The innocence lost along the way.

I am not undoing anything.
I am not asking for my innocence back.
I just learned to live in this cruel world.
I just barely missed my next floating boat,
so now I jump while I walk,
look at the sky with fond eyes,
and am not scared to love a little deeper.

I am not scared of the shredding boat
or the hurt of a broken heart.