Old bench by the baseball field

Paint flakes stuck to the back of my hand

Somebody sat down too fast, maybe

One board made a sound like a can

We all froze with our shoes in the dirt

Looking everywhere but at the crack"It was like that""Was it?""Probably""Then why'd it do that?""I didn't touch it""You were sitting""I was resting""That's just sitting"

The board leaned down like it heard us talk

Then dropped one end in the grass

Already loose

That's what we said

One board down

Three hands on it

Already loose

From far away

Looked almost fine

If you stood over there

We slid it back under the old bent screws

Pressed it flat with somebody's shoe"Don't push too hard""I'm not pushing""You're pushing now""That's you"

A jogger came by with headphones on

We all turned quiet at once

He didn't look, so we stood up taller

Like that helped anything much

Ten steps away, we turned around

The bench sat crooked in the sun"You can't even tell""You can a little""Only if you know which one"

Already loose

That's what we said

One board down

Three hands on it

Already loose

From far away

Looked almost fine

If you stood over there"So don't look""I'm looking""Then stop knowing"

Already loose

That's what we said

One board down

Three hands on it

Already loose

From far away

Looked almost fine

If you stood over there

Already loose

That's what we said

One board down

Back up again

Already loose

From far away

Looked almost fine

For about one day

Next afternoon

Board in the grass"Told you""You didn't tell nobody"