Yesterday I thought of you
When I drove by the movie theatre
There were families with chubby-cheeked kids
Bouncing like kangaroos
Teenagers hanging around with their friends
Trying to look cool
And an couple with hands roaming over each other
Waiting in line for a movie they probably didn’t see

I wish I was sixteen again
When we went there one weekend
Our first official date
Though we had already been friends for years
I screamed and covered my eyes
As bloody body parts started flying on screen
You laughed
Told me that I was too squeamish
Then tugged my hand away from my face
And held it in yours

Today I thought of you
When my brother came home
Holding a paper fortune teller
That he made in art class
Creased in the wrong places
From failed attempts
And haphazardly colored
With cheap half-dry markers

I wish I was sixteen again
When we sat at your kitchen table
Trying to do math homework after practice
You picked up a piece of crumpled scrap paper
Smoothed it out
And with a few quick folds
Turned it into a crane
You handed it to me with a smile
And then leaned over
To press your warm lips against mine

Tomorrow I will think of you
When the sound of laughing children fills the air
Celebrating our day of independence
With powdery funnel cake
And fluffy cotton candy
And shaky old carnival rides
The dark night illuminated
With colorful bursts of light

I wish I was sixteen again
When we watched the fireworks together
Sitting side by side on the soft damp grass
My ice cream melted
And dripped onto the ground
As you trailed sticky vanilla kisses down my neck
And tiny glowing stars fell from the sky

I wish I was sixteen again
And you were still here