Childhood

I have a slight mark on my lower lip, today. A little purplish asteroid floating on the outer rim of my top lip. I remember dark cabins that smelled of mold.

After a week on the open water, after a terrible storm, after 20 ft waves, after the engine died, after pirates, after the provisions emptied, after deaths, after memories I’ve lost but my parents will hold forever...

The first fight I got into was first grade.  I really forgot the cause, but I remember the outcome: it was a draw.