Barrettes & Scraped Knees

The young toddler used to see bright yellow plastic

Covered in deep dark dents

Made by countless trips

Down the colossal neon spiral

By countless other toddlers.

The young toddler used to see glossy blue plastic

Covered in small, secret scratches

Made by numerous play dates

With the big man she called Grandpa – 

His Golden hair just long enough for the colorful clasps.

The young toddler used to see small scrapes,

Streaming red with

Gritty grains of sand,

Mixing with the salt of her tears,

Filling the stinging red cuts on her knees.

The young toddler used to see strong calloused hands lifting her up

And bandaging her,

The man with the Golden locks would always say,

“No more slides today, just barrettes.

Grandpa’s gotcha now.”