poem of the day 12.23.10

elle

elle
the young boys
stood around learning
to smoke cigarettes
talking about you
to the girls learning about boys
they said
you jammed
a wiffleball bat
up your cunt
at that year’s
back to school party
they said
you were so drunk
on beer and wine coolers
you did it on a dare
all those handsome
young boys
hanging around a tree
that was dying from the fall
learning to smoke
talking about you
to all of those beautiful girls
who were learning to hate sports
and their peers
who were into
certain sexual proclivities
that were
beyond their reach
elle
those boys smoking
cigarettes in the dull light
of after school america
those girls with their jealousy
untouched cunts
and sour faces
what did
they really know
about you baby?
except rumor
innuendo
and an incident of legend
elle
i saw you often
always alone
but i never knew you
then or now
i never smoked
with their kind
and whether or not
it was true
darling
i’m through with the illusion
of youth
i gave up those cigarettes
ten years ago
and
i only think about you
during baseball season
and sometimes
when the fall comes
early
in the northeast.