Laughing
in half-naked tumble,
Snorting
grass seeds
And sighting mythic beasts across the fields,
We scrape up the fir trees, brachiating,
(Captain, there is a Klingon vessel headed
this way)
(switch on scanners, Spock! Enact shields!)
Success
of phasers determined by
The decibels of our enthralled hootings.
My mophead bro, your silly Tonkas
Scooting dirt, our silent concoctions
Outwitting those dull and disappointing two
(Stop provoking your sister!)
(Do I have to come up there?)
A
joyful and resounding NO! -- we have
Succeeded in eluding them and
Flee into the brilliant Outside To Play,
Smelling baked cement, crouching
In hedges to pelt the Neighbor children with
Filberts
And
somehow we turned out so different,
You and I
School
and its mysterious moldings – I
Learned to fit into desks, you to hide under
Them. I listened to your friend through
Walls cracking Legos, fitting models,
Baked cookies and watched you seethe while
I fed them gleefully to a gaggle of Girl
Scouts.
And
somewhere, in that vicious foray
Called Junior High and its older sibling
High School, where they teach values and
Sin
I chose the cleaner path and entered in.
Did you watch my shining star, the one
Our parents praised in their own private equinox,
And forgive me for defecting? My
star was brighter
Than that eight-year-old's summer sun…
And you, you hid from light itself, a
Pluto, buried in books.
We tap each other's carrying-cases, curious of
What's inside
(Spock!
I've lost Spock!)
You
mock my goals, I
Mourn your hermitage.
Over
the electric umbilicus we trade
Trade secrets and wonder
At each other. You've cut
Your wild scrub of hair, and the
Grass stains are out of my jeans. We've
Joined the concrete jungle
Land of the living
Where
it's at
Real life, baby
Farewell
captain, my sweet face.
Copyright © 2001-2002-2001 Katydid.
All Rights Reserved. Posted with Permission.
