Mountains Unclimbed

Ten years have since flown since you took our innocence
Turned a world of black and white into shades of gray
Taught those who weren’t ready the limits of limitless
Gave us our first real reason to hit our knees to pray

Sixth grade, I told you I saw mountains in your eyes
You blushed and tried your hardest to look away from me
From where I sat it was the rocky blues against high skies
We were too young to be the wreckage lost at sea

Seventh grade, you were sitting alone during lunch time
Nobody wanted to be the odd one out to go to you
I didn’t know what it looked like living on a fault line
We couldn’t gauge the height of the cloud s you were falling through

Eighth grade, there were rumors that couldn’t be true
In math and science right in front of me was an empty seat
From the confusion swirling nobody was immune
We didn’t understand what they meant by, “Only thirteen.”

Late November, there was a memorial across town
Everyone arrived wearing their Sunday best
Nothing about why was being spoken aloud
Fifteen minutes of tears later we put your memory to rest

With a choked voice your mother begged our attention
Your picture in the background captured us mesmerized
She asked how something like this could have ever happened
All we saw were the mountains unclimbed in your fading eyes

Ten years later, now we all know better
You’re remembered in the name of lost innocence
Instead of black and white, we exist in a world of heather
With every extended hand, we give your lesson its due diligence