Prose I Suppose

14^th Avenue

Screaming with life for a quiet neighborhood, contrasting differences created a common good

Unique individuals made up this class of ‘blue collar’, friendships by values not by the dollar

Not knowing then what I knew, it has carried me a lifetime from 14^th Avenue

As children, we could play outside at night, walking alone or riding that well used bike

Often hurt; scrapes from the bushes, skinned knees and falling from trees

Getting back up without much alarm, it was commonly known; the absence of intentional harm

To help each other was an unneeded rule; not to, would have been uncommon on 14th Avenue

 Pondering life and its starkness, walking the 3 blocks from my friend’s house in darkness,

A short span past winners and losers, do-gooders and users; some seen others heard

Listening through the sounds to distinguish each word, quite a view all there on 14^th Avenue

Rarely alone; always in groups of at least two, we chided and challenged, together we grew

Changing the scene like a storm tide, carrying us on an individual ride – puberty swept through

Morphing into strange shapes and sizes; some devastating, some fascinating, all full of surprises

As each changed per their gene, bewilderment was an apt description of the altered scene

There was commonness to what each of us knew: It was now very different on

14^th Avenue

In the overnight process, ‘cooties’ became ‘cuties’, hearts twittering; either swelling or sinking

Creatures fulfilling each of our concepts of beauties; dominating now, all of our thinking

Conversation and behavior changed in the presence of a girl, drawing us into a brand new world

Stumbling, bumbling, mostly clueless; timid or brave, at a personal pace, we entered the newness

Clumsily with a brashness often askew, there was much excitement on 14^th Avenue

To be continued…(but don’t hold your breath)