we'd meet in the greenbelt
as kids from the same street
and spend the day trying to make
an elementary legend out of
our 3rd grade philosophies
and come back home
and tell our mothers that we learned nothing today.

we'd play games like tag,
when being part of a group
was always better than being singled out.

and then we played capture the flag
where we learned that
what we're looking for
is usually where we haven't looked yet.

and follow the leader
which taught me that
i like to be unique,
because as they were taking the shortcut,
i was looking for a scenic route.