I miss this

It dawned on me that I haven't shared any of my poetry on here for a long time.

I will do so today. This goes W-A-Y back to when Jenny O'Rourke and I used to spend our days holed up at each other's houses talking about whatever our pre-teen minds could grasp right at that exact moment.

When we weren't running through the farmer's field, getting humped by greyhound dogs or running to catch the bus and crashing through the ice on the mini-pond, effectively missing th bus, we were together. We said and did things that normal pre-teen kids do. Well, mostly pre-teen boys.

We were total tom-boys, neither of us at home in a dress or comfortable with makeup. Give us a tree, a lake or a farmer's field, and we were good to go.

One day, as we sat in the PIG fort (an old knotted tree in the farmer's field), it was discovered that the cows must've been in that field over night. How did we discover this? Why, the giant clumps of cow shit that had amassed on the bottom of my shoe.

"I hate that shit!" Jenny said. And in a moment, we were both giggly because while she said "that shit", she simply meant when stuff like that happens, not the shit, per se.

Later that night, I wrote a poem, inspired by our time that afternoon. And I share it with you now.


Poop!

We all hate poop on our shoe
I hate poop, I'm sure you do!

It comes out your butthole, soft and wet
The more you eat, the harder it will get

Constipation, what a bitch!
Makes your crotch and asshole itch!

Diarrhea! Not again!
It drips in your toilet, like ink from a pen.

Whether it's runny or whether it's dry
You don't want to get poop in your eye.

Poop!


I shared that poem with Jenny the next day and we laughed something fierce. Like two boys having discovered their first porno magazine, we memorized that sucker and said it in unison every time one of us needed a smile.

Our favorite line was the constipation one. We'd say it with such point and purpose.

I miss being a kid. I miss Jenny. I miss it all. I never thought I would.



"You're Gonna Miss This"

She was staring out that window, of that SUV
Complaining, saying, "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said, "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules."
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said, "I was just like you."


You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this


Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her, "it's a nice place"
She says, "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house

Daddy shakes his head and says, "Baby, just slow down

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
She keeps apologizin'
He says They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but ...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this