PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

by Jeph Johnson

in the rain Saturday night
she was thirteen when I was seventeen
and Melody was the third person
I'd ever even kissed
you see it was 1983
-
Al Pacino stared out
from her sultry Italian eyes
as she smiled right out of her blouse
that night in my best friend Jamie's
Volkswagen Dasher backseat
you see it was 1983
-
we tried everything
I could think of at the time
in Southskate's parking lot
underneath the flickering yellow
all-night-skate neon
you see it was 1983
-
considering her small hips
were wrapped in designer jeans,
and raindrops danced in rhythm
upon the windshield

and she had pouty wet lips
and breathed faint sighs
I was mesmerized by everything,
so I touched her bare shoulders
you see it was 1983
-
her tiny breasts were hardly noticeable
when her bra fell to the floor
yet her nipples represented
a full seventeen years of desire
you see it was 1983
-
we finally sipped
from the same Cherry Coke
without having to add the syrup
it was sweeter than before
you see it was 1983
-
bunched up at her ankles
she managed to wiggle
out of her Jordache jeans
and I let her take my boyhood
into her hand for a moment
while my manhood begged to catch up
you see it was 1983
-
in the sunshine Monday afternoon
I picked her up after school
intercepting her on her way home
from her bus stop
you see it was 1983
-
she told her mom
she was going to track practice
(no one ever goes to track meets)
and she was wearing some pins
you see it was 1983
-
Duran Duran
I love sex and older men
I think she even was sucking
some sort of fruity lollipop
or smacking grape bubble gum
you see it was 1983
-
we drove to Jamie's house
bounced onto his sister's bed
and nearly rolled onto
one of Julie's Loverboy records
you see it was 1983
-
I picked it up and it said:
"Get Lucky"
the guy had his fingers crossed
so I tossed it aside
as Melody's thin body
lay naked and warm
on the satin in front of me
you see it was 1983
-
she uncrossed her legs
on their own
so I awkwardly
inserted
my two fingers

"SO, ARE WE GOING TO FUCK, OR WHAT?"

...her teenage voice still echoes today,
seventeen years later while I am still deciding. 
You see, it was 1983