The echoes of laughter fade, 

hushed whispers of a time when 

innocence wove through our days

fragile threads now unraveling.

A boy stands by the edge of the river

                    eyes wide with wonder

tracing the ripples that dance 

beneath the setting sun.

The world felt endless then

             each stone a treasure

                    each tree a fortress.

He built dreams in the sand

fortresses of imagination

only to watch them crumble 

beneath the relentless tide.

              The waves took his castles

and with them, pieces of his youth.

The seasons changed

leaves turned to gold and fell

blanketing the ground 

with remnants of yesterday.

In the quiet moments

he searched for the boy 

                   he used to be

finding only shadows 

and echoes of forgotten laughter.

Grief settled like morning mist

                    dense and inescapable

clouding the paths he once walked 

with carefree abandon.

                The weight of loss 

pressed against his chest

each breath a reminder 

of what was no more.

He sees the world through different eyes

scars etched into his soul

a testament to battles fought 

and innocence lost.

The boyhood dreams lie buried

beneath the soil of reality

where they whisper of what could have been.

In the stillness of twilight

he mourns the boy he left behind

                            the one who believed 

in endless summers and unbroken promises.

                  The man stands alone

bearing the burden of knowledge

yet cherishing the fragments 

of a past that shaped him.

This is the death of boyhood

a solemn rite of passage

where innocence fades 

and grief fills the void.

But within the sorrow

there lies a quiet strength

a resilience born of loss

and a heart that still remembers 

                       how to dream.