faded earl grey

faded earl grey
makes a great backdrop for fate
and school photos.
a waste of paper
and pottery glaze,
bring back the free days, i say.

pile up the peppercorns,
remove the lid of the time capsule.
hidden inside are the dreams of kids
squinting into the distance
tiny lipped and optimistic:

i'm gonna go fruit picking
i'm gonna learn linguistics
i'm gonna be prime minister

in the deep end