sixteen
that’s a big number
but it hasn’t hit me yet,
not fully,
I’ve had little bits of it
but that big realization,
like a whole ocean washing over me
all at once,
that,
that hasn’t gotten to
me
yet
for my birthday I got a new leather jacket
fits well
has a warm fuzzy inside
two stripes, brown and grey,
on the shoulder
and we (the gift-giver and I)
both agree
the black material
isn’t really
leather
I love it
so I wore it to school today
feeling like hot ****
the best new thing
since sliced bread
so I got there and nothing was
different
nobody noticed
not a word spoken
positive or negative
I was still just
Caleb
and they were still just
them
I hate it
now I’m home,
sixteen
with a new leather
jacket
that nobody even
noticed.
what to do?
what to do?
what to do?
I don’t have homework to do
no lines to memorize
no chores needing to be done
I’m just sitting here
alone with my jacket
and my new age
maybe I’ll read a book
or write some more poems
or go take a walk
or go talk to somebody new
or something
I feel it
I feel the tidal wave
it’s not here yet
but I feel it shake the ground
and I see it’s shadow block out the sun
but it won’t hit me
not yet
I have to know what it is first,
know what it means,
then it’ll sweep me away,
take me to a new level of persona
so far away from this one
and as I think on my day
and my new leather jacket
I think on how little anybody cared
and feel the splashing of water on
the back of my legs
Nov 8, 2010
Nov 8, 2010 at 12:18 PM UTC
sixteen
that’s a big number
but it hasn’t hit me yet,
not fully,
I’ve had little bits of it
but that big realization,
like a whole ocean washing over me
all at once,
that,
that hasn’t gotten to
me
yet
for my birthday I got a new leather jacket
fits well
has a warm fuzzy inside
two stripes, brown and grey,
on the shoulder
and we (the gift-giver and I)
both agree
the black material
isn’t really
leather
I love it
so I wore it to school today
feeling like hot ****
the best new thing
since sliced bread
so I got there and nothing was
different
nobody noticed
not a word spoken
positive or negative
I was still just
Caleb
and they were still just
them
I hate it
now I’m home,
sixteen
with a new leather
jacket
that nobody even
noticed.
what to do?
what to do?
what to do?
I don’t have homework to do
no lines to memorize
no chores needing to be done
I’m just sitting here
alone with my jacket
and my new age
maybe I’ll read a book
or write some more poems
or go take a walk
or go talk to somebody new
or something
I feel it
I feel the tidal wave
it’s not here yet
but I feel it shake the ground
and I see it’s shadow block out the sun
but it won’t hit me
not yet
I have to know what it is first,
know what it means,
then it’ll sweep me away,
take me to a new level of persona
so far away from this one
and as I think on my day
and my new leather jacket
I think on how little anybody cared
and feel the splashing of water on
the back of my legs
Request permission to use this poem