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Chaperone
by
Kay Day


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One girl leans back against the wall, top row
on the bleachers. Music ricochets off each still
and moving surface. To speak is to shout. Bare
need bear hugs this girl, bowed head to slumped
shoulders. I regret my age. I long for braces
on my teeth and pimples on my face,
budding hips and breasts. I'd like to take
these bleachers two at a time, play-punch
her arm and relay gossip that the other
kids could overhear. I picture us
laughing at the girls we'd like to know,
but can't. We swing and sway and do
the chicken dance, then concoct a plot to get
my mom to take us out for pizza after. We send
our secrets spinning around this sweaty gym.
 
From A Poetry Break (Ocean Publishing, 2004).
Used here with the author's permission.
 

Kay Day is one of those writers who does it all--poetry, memoir, nonfiction, journalism, technical . . . you name it, she writes it--and does it well. Former host of a blog that focused on life and politics in the USA, she currently hosts a blog focusing on lesser-known stories: UnderCovered at Patreon. Kay is a former columnist for the The Writer Magazine, the author of two books, and her work has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. She has won awards for poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. A former South Carolinian now living in Jacksonville, Florida,  she is a frequent guest lecturer at schools and political and book events.

    

 

 

 


Post New Comment:
pwax:
This poem takes us back. Well done!
Posted 09/04/2012 10:36 AM
dotief@comcast.net:
Kay's poetry is always so rich in imagery. Such powerful pictures are conjured with phrases like "Bare/ need bear hugs this girl..." or "We send/ our secrets around this sweaty gym." Wow! Simply magic!
Posted 09/04/2012 09:21 AM


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