Brown and White Buildings

Across from a park, where the sun shines from the side,
I see a white building of old mortar and stone.
In this town that is covered with snow deep and wide,
It is where I grew up, and where I have been known.

There's laughter with friends in the high school nearby.
There's dreams of our futures and how we'll play our part.
Pizza and movie nights, talking late in the night.
Or a dark night of walking when pain fills your heart.

But my mind always goes back to that white building,
And it's brown companion that also holds meaning.
Those places hold memories dark, light, and filling.
I try to hold on, but there's sadness it's bringing.

I stand in the middle, and my mind fills the room.
Memories moving like dark shadows of the past.
It's here I learned to fight, to be tough, to be true.
To stand up, to hold on, be a warrior at last.

I would kick until numb, I would punch until sore.
I would train, I would spar, I would practice all day.
Bruises on my side and arms from hitting the floor.
Taking kicks to body, the arms, head, and face.

It was like a dream, all the movements so fluid.
A fierce dance of death; I was one of the players.
If you'd take me back there, I know I would do it,
Just me and my team, days of training, and no cares.

But then, just like that, it was over all at once.
Dreams of the gold vanished into thin air.
It was all progressing, then an argument cuts,
He rips out the dreams, tears them up, doesn't care.

But if I could go back to one moment in life,
I wish I could fix that, keep things happy how they were.
But I had to stand up for myself at some time.
It needed to happen, and yet still, I'm not sure.

My thought's in the past, but I live in the present.
I bring myself back, see my life, how fulfilling!
But a piece of my heart was still left where my dreams went,
For all that I learned in those brown and white buildings.


Tara J. Howard


Copyright Dec. 2014