Day 16 – Remember to Play

We forget what it is like
to laugh, to play,

we forget what it is like to
simply exist in moments of joy.

The one thing that separates adults from kids — 
is not age, not time, not wisdom,

not responsibilities, bills, work or the things
we label as ‘adult’ that are just ‘bad’ habits dressed up as something we’ve

earned a right to do — drink, gamble, use people, use each other,
be snide, be snarky, suppress feelings —

no, what makes an adult an adult it is the inability to play
without fear to play without restraint,

to play without feeling foolish — 
we forget, we forget, we forget — and we mourn a bit, sure —

because of the bills, because of the work, because we confuse things like bars and drinking or parties or thrills for play,

when these things are not play — 
play is an endeavor of the spirit,

playfulness is an attitude of pure glee,
playing is curiosity in action, discovery, pretending —

play is approaching each moment as new,
full of beautiful possibility, of imagination

play is grace and laughter
even when falling and crawling — play is

using our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits
to explore the world around us with kindness and awe.

We forget this, we forget this — –
we have to remember,

we have to make time
all of us,

children, adults, men, women — 
we have to remember to play.

Jenny Justice is a poet mom who longs to bring poetry to life in ways that spark empathy, connection, joy, and feeling. She loves writing love poems, climate change awareness poems, poems for kids, and of course, poems about poetry and poets. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer.