By Don Kenton Henry
Often I reflect on a memory I count among the better
And feel the fullness of her breasts beneath that cotton sweater
I feel the tenderness of her lips
The warmth of her breath upon my chest
All this
then some to come
under dim gymnasium lights
I recall the sweet taste of her mouth as she kissed me once more
It was the second kiss of my young life
I do not remember at what point it ended
Nothing of what transpired until then fades with time
Not a thing
Not all powers―either earthly or otherworldly―could have transcended us
Beyond innocence lost in what seemed but a dream
Wars were being fought around the world
Flags fell, then raised and unfurled
And there we were
Locked in a moment on that hardwood floor
Babies were born and old people died
In both cases, their loved ones cried
But no thought of things behind the arena’s door
A hallowed coliseum and only two of us inside
Men were in space and the world kept spinning 1,000 miles per hour
In the center of the court; in the paw of our regal school mascot; she opened up for me like a budding spring flower
Oblivious to our inexperience we were losing in the grip of first love’s spell
The tiger held the orchid
And the petals fell
Deep, below my lips
Deep in my genetic material
Herds of wildebeest crossed the Serengeti
The saber-tooth gave chase―deep, deep into her hips
Deep into the fertile jungle where she did lie
Somewhere in time, a wooly mammoth trumpeted
And some prehistoric relative of mine raised his club to the sky
This poem is a result of my writer’s club challenge to compose a poem about “coming of age”. I cultivated it from my flash fiction, “Second Kiss” – which was culled from my consummate coming of age story – “Venus Wore Red Ball Jets”.
“mr bard,”
how wonderful to meet you monday..to hear you read this poem; as we decided, nothing extraneous, powerful imagery. am so looking forward to your short story.
Just saw your comment tonight, Patricia. Had I seen it previously, I would have been certain to have thanked you in person at tonight’s meeting of our writer’s club. You are such a welcome addition to our group. Your writing is wonderful and your critiques of everyone’s work the most meaningful I have heard in years. Additionally – congratulations on winning tonight’s short story contest!