Study hall

 (date uncertain)

Her long blonde hair

Drips over the back of the seat

In a study hall that is not in a hall at all

But in an auditorium

And we seated like spectators

Waiting for a movie to start

That will never start,

The tips of her hair dusting my knees

Like a tease,

She is so pretty my eyes ache

Just to look at her,

With me so shy

(when I was still shy)

I can barely speak,

But study every move she makes

As if she was my text book,

Catching glimpse of her lips

Or eye lashes each time

She turns to talk to this friend

Or that friend

On this side or that,

Her lips so pink they make me bleed

Her eyes so blue, I drown

She is not a mirage

For a boy stumbling from a dry

Dry desert,

I could touch her if I dared,
I would kiss her if I could,

I’m just too scared to ask,

And so I nearly explode

When she turns to me

And wants me to take her

To the dance,

Me, the shy kid from study hall,

The long-haired beatnik type

Not her type at all

In a school full of cool kids

And jocks,

She a dream come true,

Long hair framing a perfect face

And my head filled with visions

Of being so close

I might embrace,

She asking me to meet

Beyond this hive of echoes,

Beyond a study hall

That is not a study hall at all,

Me, the kid seated behind her,

And she reading me

Like an open book.