1973

it’s funny
but I don’t feel
any connection to the boy
standing there
in the snow-covered driveway
with his pants too short and
I’m certain
the other children teased him
asking him
where’s the flood?
but the writing
on the back of the photo
says 1973 Jim
so it must be me
I do remember
the swingset behind me
not a store-bought one
but something my Dad made
out of pipes welded together
one summer
I tipped it over and
turned it into a spaceship
so I could travel to distant planets
I had to fight
all kinds of strange beasts and
I didn’t know
if I’d ever make it back home
sometimes
I let the girl next door
go with me
but I told her
I was in charge and
she had to do whatever I said
she kept telling me
she loved me and
someday
we would get married
but a few years later
she moved away and
I haven’t seen her since