Teenager, On the Way
to school, at the light.
The bass beat rocks the car
and hums the street.
Behind me, two girls
in an old Mercedes,
in front, unabashed
by the taped taillight,
and hanging half out
the open window
in delight,
a jaunty salute
over the hood of my car.
A crinkling of eyes
the buzz cut hair
the muscled wave
of a tee-shirted arm
before the light changes
and he is off,
a blast into the ether
of the curve out of sight,
as quick as that.
that's a scene we've all watched play out at one point or another... timeless!
ReplyDeletenicely written. that's the way it is you see a guy and in a flash he's gone, :) hope all is well. have a great day.
ReplyDeleteAh, those were the days, weren't they? I even miss having a house full of three.
ReplyDeleteGot to maintain the "cool" no matter the occasion.
ReplyDeleteToo bad school isn't "cool." Not that I ever cared.
Great images in this one!
A man with a mission, maybe...
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm growin' me one of those, in the past 3 weeks my 16 year old is:
ReplyDelete"No longer a danger to stationary objects,
no longer a hazard to other vehicles,
but still dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists."
...watch those turns!
Oh no!
ReplyDeleteWhere is she gone?
MY!
Brilliant post
D.
Tears in my eyes...and I don't even have kids to relate to the experience personally! This is a special poem.
ReplyDeleteGreat - or as they would say, That's cool! An d that's coll, too!
ReplyDeleteHow different becomes the things that thrill us as we age. My '67 charger would've smoked him off the line. But I don't care anymore.
ReplyDeleteI never really like teenagers. Even when I was one. But I never claimed that I wasn't odd. ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is another fun one, Karen. I love the taped taillight and the girls hanging out of the open window!! It's a beautiful scene, and you capture the essence so well. I love the last line, too. It says it all..."as quick as that." Then they're gone.
ReplyDeleteYes, cool is the word.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, and slyly sophisticated poem. Love the echoed "ight".
History repeats itself - again and again, redundantly!...lol Loved the slick feel of this - and the imgages it promoted!
ReplyDeleteYou just summed up my hometown, except for the part where there's hundreds of them at all hours of the day and they're obnoxious rich kids wearing stupid clothes. :D
ReplyDeletemust disagree with jason here - i love teenagers. moreso now than when i was one.
ReplyDeleteand i love the last three lines - like all those years - gone, as quick as that. :)
I still feel like that, Karen, in many ways, the girls, and the guy...
ReplyDeleteYou've captured the moment in a wonderful way!