Lennon James

in a different life i let my hair grow out long  

without any care for how you perceived it  

my patchy beard finally filled in  

and i swam where i couldn’t feel the oceans floor beneath my feet 

i kissed my friends just to show them  

that i cared  

and i would listen more than i spoke  

i wore those rings that stained my fingers  

and watched as the geese flew north above me 

content in the silence  

in a different life i moved across the country  

as i couldn’t stand being away from you  

we eloped in a place we had never been to  

and told nobody of our secret 

in a different life i never left home 

i never had to call my parents to tell them  

how i missed them 

my first dog never died  

in a different life it was enough  

you were always  

i was only close