This is a whimsical poem and song reflecting on the exploration of adolescent love and sexuality. The title of the poem underwent a number of changes from “Deserted Places”, “Empty Lots”, before I finally decided on the present title.

As an adolescent, I had my favorite places in which to, in the parlance of Ruthie’s Aunt Evie, “molly buzz”, or “make out” to describe this activity, largely resulting from the response of raging hormones and adolescent infatuation. The poem is a reflection as to whether the celebrated, secluded “lover lanes” of the past are still being utilized by the adolescents of today and how the pandemic has changed or curtailed the patterns of adolescent sexual exploration. While not endorsing immoral behavior, I am not blind to the fact that adolescents really don’t give a hang as to whether their behavior is moral or immoral as they are experiencing the throes of hormonal excess.

I naively conclude that the present day pandemic has lessened the “near occasions of sin” committed by our present day adolescents, while acknowledging that they are probably still throwing caution to the wind and continuing the long time behaviors of their ancestors.

I used the Medieval dance, Estampie, as a way to express this musically.