JOSHUA DICKEY

Squirrels With Megaphones

(Best Friends Forever)

Gone are the times we would spend the day together

Bare our hearts, tell our secrets to one another

Keep our steps in time to keep our hands entwined

I was supposed to keep you safe, I was supposed to make everything fine

You opened me up and took a look inside

Not afraid of what you might find

 

Gone are the times we would pick each other up, dust each other off

We'd dismiss our troubles with a scoff

I cried until I coughed

At everything that I’d lost

Nothing will ever be the same

I've never felt so ashamed

 

Gone are the times we would laugh at rumor

Still don't think I ever meant anything to her

When never close enough becomes too close

Is when I need you the most

For a long time I wept

But there're no more tears left

 

Gone are the times we stared into each other's eyes

As if seeking out some kind of shiny prize

After all our trials

All that's left are sad smiles

I've made my bed, now it's time to lie

But I'll miss you ‘til the day I die

 

Gone are the times we spent together

As best friends, forever.

 

 

          I've never been a big fan of poetry; I've never been good at writing it, and I've never particularly enjoyed reading it. It wasn't until I wrote Squirrels With Megaphones that I actualy understood how helpful it could be. This poem is about one of the most difficult events in my adolescent life: losing the only best friend I've ever had. Usually when i try to write a poem for class, I would stare at the page for hours trying to think of something, writing and erasing, changing my mind, looking up rhmying words and phrases, getting frustrated and leaving and coming back to it later. However, this time, I wrote Squirrels With Megaphones in under 10 minutes, hardly stopping to think at all. All the emotion seemed to pour out of me and onto the page, and it seemed to stay there, to an extent. This quote, from Bright Eyes' song Take it Easy explains this well: "If you stay too long inside my memory; then I will trap you in a song tied to a melody; and I'll keep you there so you can't bother me". After writing Squirrels With Megaphones, it felt like a weiht was lifted from my chest, like I'd finally articulated my feelings. This was the first time I actually wrote poetry, and it was a powerful experience, in a way. So, in conclusion, I believe that this poem is an example of some of my best work because it was the most important to me; it changed my view on an entire genre of writing, and helped me get through a painful time in my life.