Boy Inside

There was a boy inside me Full of life Full of fun I used to see him in the mirror Grinning impishly at me He'd tell me secrets Of the wildwood And the elderberry trees And speak of magic in the heart Of every living thing. ‘Cross the babbling brooks of time We would skip among the shadows Chasing unicorns and dragonflies Through the caverns of the mind And then we'd stop and listen To the silence in a stone And touch the color of the rainbow That only blind men know. Yes I miss the boy inside me I miss that foolish grin He left without my knowing And I'm not sure why or how But when I look into the mirror I only see the frown. ~ Laurence Overmire (Previously published in Footprints, Vol.2, Issue 3, Fall 1999; Magic Poems, Papyrus Press LLC,2024)