The Runaway Children

The Runaway Children

They slipped through cracks in the morning hush

with pockets of bread and a quiet rush

no goodbyes tied to trailing sleeves

just open fields and scattered leaves

One wore shoes too big to hold

one had stories he’d never told

they followed the tracks where wild things go

beyond the hedge where foxgloves grow

A scarf for warmth, a song for light

they walked through brambles into night

a bottle of dreams in a paper bag

and a dog that followed without a tag

They learned the names of every tree

slept by a brook, ran fast, ran free

not for mischief, not for shame

not to win or play a game

They just were tired of hearing no

and walls that whispered where not to go

what’s broken can’t be swept away

so they made their own escape that day

In every town, a tale is spun

of children vanished with the sun

but if you listen through the trees

you’ll hear their laughter on the breeze

Not ghosts, not gone, just out of sight

alive beneath the starlit night

with dirt-streaked cheeks and barefoot grace

they found the world, and found their place

Only for one exciting night

then hunger took them at daylight