He was just an average boy
Sitting next to me in my fifth grade class
Giggling and goofing around
While the teacher was giving a history lesson
Or swinging upside down on the monkey bars
In the school playground during afternoon recess
But underneath all of this mirthful banter
We were still two kids who connected
On a deeper level
Beyond academic borders and superficial cliques
Forming a perennial pact of companionship
That would continue past the angst of adolescence
And fully blossom in the last lap of our seasoned lives.
BARREN BOXCAR
They were just a couple of adolescent kids
With nothing better to do
On a dismal gray Sunday afternoon
But climb up into the barren boxcar
Permanently positioned
On the rusty old train tracks
And sit propped up against
Plush potato sacks
And gallons of frothy ice cream
Playing cards and jacks.
FEMALE FIESTA
We sat in front of the TV set
Until 3:00 am
Roaring at Bill Murray flicks
And sobbing at Richard Gere love stories
Drinking cream soda
And crunching on handfuls of Fritos and Pringles
Before dozing off
On the living room floor
In our toasty sleeping bags
Dreaming of our favorite movie heroes.
FINAL INTERMISSION
Friday night and nothing to do
But hang out at Big Al's
All six of us huddled in a booth
Eating a bucket of chicken wings
Dripping in hot sauce and blue cheese
Laughing and carrying on
Like crazy college kids
After sleepless nights
Of cramming for year end exams
Ready to graduate
From this institutional think-tank
And practice our scholarly wisdom
In the real world.
FRIENDSHIP'S FAREWELL
Every afternoon,
I walk past the house on Halliwell Street
To glimpse at her jocund face and sterling coiffure
Waving at me with tiny ripened hands
Motioning me to stop by for a leisurely sojourn
But today,
The welcoming portal of kinship is locked
For her cycle of vitality has just elapsed.
PACIFIC CURRENT
We sat eating our Dairy Queen sundaes
On the cold water's edge
In the middle of January
Waiting for the river to thaw its glacial layers
So that once again
We could dip our parched bodies
Into this lilting lagoon.
PRINCELY POSES
We arrived at the supermarket
On our shiny blue bicycles
Sprinting to the magazine rack
To view the latest photos
Of our favorite TV hunks
Scraping up two whole dollars
For a copy of Teen Beat.
SYNTHETIC SCAFFOLD
Every Friday night,
We used to watch horror flicks
On a gigantic screen at the Drive-In Theater
Munching crazily on buttery popcorn
And slugging down cans of Cherry Coke
Cringing every time the merciless madman
Abducted and killed his vulnerable victims.
Then we'd wake up late on Saturday morning
Ready for another dose
Of frightfully fabricated entertainment.
