Summer Memory Poem

The Summer I was 13…

Was the summer I went to China,
walked on the Great Wall,
saw Mao Zedong and got yelled at by
a Chinese guy for talking in the chapel.

It was the summer I ate food that looked like worms,
touched the Yangtze River and started to love the English language.
It was the summer I walked the Tiger Leaping Gorge
hiking tour and arrived late at night after walking 12 hours.

It was the summer I listened to
“Anything but Ordinary”
While thinking about whether or not
I was too old to play with Lego Scala.

It was the summer I started overusing
“I love you” because I didn’t know what
else to say. I was too scared to say anything else.
I’m over that now.

It was the summer I started pushing people away because
I wanted them to pull me closer. The summer I was 13
Was the summer everything changed.
It was the summer I starting growing up.