A thief passes amongst us, unseen until it’s too late.
He sneaks around us, blending in, stealing our lives, and we are powerless.
He turns infants into teenagers, girls into women, and boys into men. Then just as quickly he is gone and those we love are too.
Summers turn to springs at his touch while days are suddenly months. Hair turns grey and joints creak, bodies wasting at his hand.
Even our minds are not safe.
Men buy cars, women take lovers, and children rebel in hopes of combating this war. But he slowly marches on, beating us into the ground.
We can only hope to impede his progress and seemingly not care for his ends.
Run through sprinklers, kiss a frog, and roll in the dirt.
Jump in a mud puddle, play red rover, and hold hands.
Maybe then we’ll never grow up. And time can steal someone else’s life.