Following the rules…
I really did mean to follow the rules, I swear! But at line ten, I realized I couldn’t end it in only one line.
Summer Before College
We scramble over the chain link fence.
In the shade of an elm tree is a rusted-out Buick,
ladle in place of the gearshift, front seats gone,
quilt on the bench seat and condom wrappers on the floor.
We strip off denim and t-shirt, my hand down your
floral-printed,white-cotton panties, wet with sweat
and arousal, then we search for the meaning of love
in these naive thrustings. If we were older,
the popped spring bruising your back would make us laugh,
today, in the early summer heat, we ignore it.
We ignored it like we ignored
the condom that broke that day
and the first missed period.
We ignored it like we ignored
the silence as we drove across the state line
and like I ignored the quiet sobs
as we drove back.
As a note, this is in no way autobiographical and, thus, I’m not sure how well I did with the tone of the poem. Most of my writing, perhaps very obscurely, is autobiographical, so I can get a handle on what it needs to say. This one… if there are any constructive comments, do not hesitate to share either in comments, or via email.