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Second Adolescence
"I think he likes you."
Words I haven't heard since puberty
Make my heart soar
And I hear the voice of a twelve-year-old ask
"Are you sure?"
She says...he said.
Like and like like.
All those things left in junior high
Coming back to haunt me.
Every time I think I've grown up
Something tugs at my brain
And my inner child comes out to play.
She laughs at the emotions she hides in her toy box.
Will you be my boyfriend?
Check yes or no.
I heard it from Susie who heard it from Dillon who heard it from his older sister's best friend and so on and so on and...
Why do I believe every tidbit tossed my way?
Stowing them in my "Hello Kitty" diary...slamming it in my locker...running to algebra.
The grown-up in me struggles to escape
Clawing through the crepe paper of dances
And the smeared make-up of slumber parties.
Reaching for the keggers and the "adult" lifestyle I should be living.
No more rumors
Just flat out honesty.
"Hey! You...me...sometime?"
©1998-2004 J. Gardiner
