Angelina

I. Angelina was the first girl hugged By the shiest boy in the grade above her. Happenstance. He didn't even love her Because at the time Love was on his mind And it consumed him How absent love was In the teenage realm. Yet he still imbued that hug with care. Loneliness schooled him well, Each night his spirit entered the gutter In torrents, along with the rest of the city's mire. Somewhere far from his drying levy, The 'Rora Borealis played tag in a girl's backyard, A promise That they would one day meet and be orange-sweet. One day. II. If our lives had been different And less tragic Maybe she and I would be together And love each other unconditionally And look back on our first teenage hug And laugh, Admitting that we both had feelings Human feelings And how childish getting giddy about a hug was. Or not, Because our hugs would still be supercharged With the sensations absent from our old high schools Where no one was truly your friend. And now we are young adults Cursing sordid paths riddled with black ice, Guffawing at a few good jokes now and then, Ignorant that future adulthood began Long before my family's flame died, And Angelina was born paralyzed.