already

already
the young girls that
were younger last year
in the field of pavement
before the row of houses
where you live,
have slowed
into themselves,
no longer scattered
and yelling
across the lot, with
no difference between
boys or girls,
kicking a red ball,
hiding
and seeking, marking
their world
in colored chalk.
no longer
are they in the mix
of the other children
rising,
they have moved on to
another side
of life, already.