Remembering wrong

At some point the colors changed
Not all of them, and maybe not that much
But the oranges and yellows were brighter before
and you wore a yellow ribbon
like that terrible song
and your eyes were wide and bright and
I can't even attempt to find words
metaphors, similes, and such
(I'm not sure I remember the difference
to be quite honest
that was always more of your field;
I was playing an acoustic guitar
poorly, to impress you)
and I thought you knew the whole world
and everything and everyone
and I wanted to be everyone
but not at that moment because I had so much
and we had so much. Pause.

Again I find it easier to avoid
the concrete
and descriptive:
a joke, for historical context
('avoid the concrete' is bad advice
for journalism
but good advice
for skateboarding);
But really I just
can't remember
if we parted on good terms.
Or if we ever actually rode the Ferris Wheel
and watched the lights blend and blur until the
world was a carnival and a highway and music
and we blushed at the things we said
because they never came out right, and that was
mostly me in all honesty
and still is
So as a favor
if you see me
in the same town
maybe buying groceries
wondering why none of the fruits or vegetables
are as bright and colorful as they should be
maybe we could try to catch up
with the same questions and the same vague answers
but maybe we're better off
with the memories we made,
though I doubt they can compare
to all the wonderful times we forgot to write down.

Meaning

You're supposed to write about personal life experiences
But I didn't have any so I floated a B-
Which is a bad grade for a perfectionist but I'm not
And you have to understand this is fiction because
My experiences are a series of photo-opportunities
Which lead me to sarcastically refer to this
modern age
And advances in photography as reinventing the idea of
experience
But the truth is that half of the time
I am thinking "this
is okay
because absolutely no one else
has any clue what they are doing
either"
And I think that is the secret
Or rather a secret
That leads to so many words
Meaning something other than their literal definition
Meaning symbolism
Meaning imagery
In electronic photographs
And dystopia has been done to death
And I really want to be an optimist
But I find for an optimist
That pessimism is a better bet
Because when everything becomes unexpectedly and impossibly
Wonderful
You won't be taking an economic approach

(Which I feel
As a B- student
Is always the wrong approach
And I would love for some confirmation
Of anything
Because after a certain point in life
You stop getting useful feedback
And all you want to do
Is have meaningful conversations with strangers)

Out of context

Let's not do bitter
or make eyes
or worry about what we're supposed to do
because this summer will last for
three weeks
that you'll remember

So bless this mess
and the New Jersey shore
that I always thought had no meaning
except in songs written in the Midwest
and I still think so
but it's a nice place to be
when its warm
it's nice to be
where it's warm

So let's prove them all wrong
and maybe make it to thirty
and maybe be glad we did

Start over

we already lost
and they were nice enough to throw us a party