reclaiming the hill

we are going to walk and re-walk
this hill in frayed sneakers

until our soles and fingerprints
mark the pavement leading down
to the condemned bridge

so that when i move away
and they knock it down

you will remember our hands
on sweating thermoses of beer
and each other

instead of the longboard accident.

You will remember the narrow shoulders
of the bridge, how once
we could walk all the way across.