tie them down

the track star
the cool kid
the back-seat clown
the kid that's too big
the kid to put down
watch them crowd
their awkward spaces
nervous energy bending their
awkward faces
confined in their seats
black sash tie downs
protecting them from
their spontaneity
their energy
their stupidity
but I remember the thrill
as we turned down to the hill
of leaning our weight
to the outside edge
to tip this whale
onto the beach
to press the face
of your best friend
hard into the window glass
and he smiles from within
at every stop
someone would fall
Darwin would study this
selection of the fittest
modelled by poor balance
and lack of foresight
these little lessons
now stretched black and shining
across the laps of the little
as they again are stripped
of one more layer
of one more level
of self expression
of their small freedom
and the ability they so enjoy
to discover their own mortality
while they laugh uncontrollably
at others lessons learned