Rainbow Sprinkles

Are we ever truly who we claim to be?
I took a big bite into my ice cream cone
The cold rich taste of vanilla caking the roof of my mouth
As rainbow sprinkles exploded into bouts of chocolate
Adding color to a fading sky,
The sun was about to set.

Sitting on the stoop,
I leaned upon the dirty gray stairs,
Just high enough so that my feet still dangled
Like when I was five,
And carpenters and factories
Didn't really cater to my size.

I had made talk about doing this for a long time now
Soaking in the sun and thinking big thoughts
Passersby would pretend not to look
As they hurriedly shuffled by looking busy
But would steal a glance or two,
Wondering what was going on inside.

But instead of plans on how to end world hunger
Or even contemplations on how blue the sky seemed
My thoughts would always turn back to you,
The words you said to me, eyes unwavering
And the words I imagine you would've said,
If you had passed by me today, on that dirty stoop.

In defiance, I'd shoot back
Quick one liners aimed straight for your heart
Hoping to mark that final blow
To "X" this problem out
Once...
And for all.

But dreams can't fly to where they do
Unless they've left someone behind, to patiently wait
Back here on this lonely rock
Otherwise they'll just cut and drift away
And we ourselves would never wake
Only to mumble our way through the rest of this awkward silence.

And so I know, exactly...
What I'd say to you
Eyes lowered, and muttering
Wanting to be brave, trying to be fair...
Afraid that you'd leave the room
With more than just hair in your eyes...

Matted from sweat...
Dizzy from grief...
A knot in your chest...
And dumb from disbelief

That such a thing could happen...
To you or me.

You know it's always surprising, at least to me
As you get to the last bits of an ice cream cone.
Just how much ice cream actually gets inside one of those things
And how unexpectedly, sometimes you'll find a rainbow sprinkle
Swimming at the bottom of the cone
When you were all but sure that you had eaten every last one of 'em.

It was warm today...
So I had some ice cream.