What's Shorting Out the Good Show

There's a lot of talk about
what's shorting out the good show
as girls blown over like dominoes
start packing at twelve. Their

lips in runny rips of red
announcing the fun of matching
up your menses. There's a lot of
concern too and talk about the boys

imploding. Like some over weighted
wave disappears them like starfish
and the short hairs show up.
And talk about the mothers

and daddies' little numbers
fitting into school so well.
And mucosal tissue and guns
like one going off means that

the other will? And rigid
diagnostics so that ADD gets to be
a perfect little problem we can solve now.
The waves are over night missing.

There are humps of foam sitting
on the sand where the boys were.
And the girls liplocked
forever on the playground are

practicing their feelings.
Feeling deep long kisses. Feeling
almost what it felt like beginning
just before the good show ended.

Copyright © 2004 Martha W. Ostheimer All rights reserved
from The Journal
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission