She wrote this poem - "a long time ago"
but what she left me wanting to know was
relative to the average life expectancy
of a female fruit fly, what is the definition
of a long time
Relative to the length of the lines
in her poems her life is but
the twinkling of an eye
You see her childhood lost in tears
her metaphors wise beyond the years
she is the age every girl think she wants to be
Her age of innocence lost you see
she trusted men completely until she was betrayed
Wore her clothes rather neatly until they were frayed
by the very strong hands - she trusted
She sang in the choir with an angelic voice
and should have gone higher but soon became hoarse
singing the very secrets she sang so low
and what she left me wanting to know was
why she loves the sound of her voice
more than she loves herself
Her life is just beginning, already
her hopes for true love on a shelf
This makes her wonder - No
This makes her wanna holla and
throw up both her hands - No
it makes her wanna scream and throw
out the bath water with the man
she is tired of life already
She's given up her virtue to the boy
before they were even going steady and
God knows a baby doesn't make a man ready
for marriage; she thinks this whole thing
is a miscarriage of justice, She dreams this
whole thing has ended in a miscarriage
But no such luck, she wakes to find herself stuck
in the reality and the finality
of an abortion, she is now officially
the age every girl thinks she wants to be
But she didn't start out this poem to end so tragically
and if she could start it all over magically
she'd write more reason than rhyme in her fantasy
she'd finally find out who she's supposed to be
And she'd write this one great poem so you can see
That getting old before your time
ain't all it's cracked up to be
It's only the age every girl thinks she wants to be
(c)Nathan M. Richardson 2006
from You Are the Subject
Spiritual Concepts Publishing, Suffolk, VA
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