Saturday 9 March 2019

Thirteen years

When I was seventeen,
I was obsessed with a girl
I dreamt would make me king.

My god,
the insanity of standing by her
in canteen queues—
the air between
erupting
against my shirt.
The shock and clarity
of stealing glimpses
in her eyes

meant speaking words to her
was flames against the roof of my mouth.

Sarah. Her name was Sarah
and I never gave up hope.

Thirteen years on,
she was a memory
made manifest in you.
I was seventeen again
in canteen lines
and restless behind the desks
of classrooms,
staring at the back of your head
and feeling the air erupt
in the wake of your dress.

But this time:
a look my way,

an opening

and victory.

Thirteen years on,
touching lips with you
meant making out with Sarah
by the lockers
when all the other kids
were stuck in class.
I was seventeen again

but a king
who’d never quit on hope.

There you were,
there she was,
in my arms at last
on a Friday after school.
No shooting blanks at life,
no weekend angst.
Just the girl,
the stirrups
and that wild run.

As graduation hits
for a second time,

I can’t tell
if I’m leaving as a ghost
from the scene of a crash
outside the gates of school

or
if we’re splitting
for you're moving away
for uni.

I hope the second.

I hope to see you again
in thirteen years.






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