What Finally Set Me Off (Part 1)
(Although this was inspired by Olusequn Adelana's poetry challenge about betrayal, it is
much too long to enter it; but I'm thankful for any poetic inspiration I can recieve!)
What Finally Set Me Off
Sometimes Mom would mildly chide me
for my seeming inability to stand up for myself.
I would call myself tolerant, mellow, and forgiving.
But she’d sometimes put it this way: You’re a doormat!
And sometimes when she saw my lack of self-assurance,
she’d heave a sigh. You see, she loved me.
And she suffered, with her daughters, when we endured injustice.
Which brings me to my own tale of betrayal
and what first-time betrayal meant to a young too-trusting girl.
I think it was in junior high, the time I was emerging
from my pre-pubescent shell, flowering, not just physically;
my mental faculties were blossoming as well.
I had a best, friend, Sheila, blue eyed Sheila,
A pint-sized world-wise, Alabama transplant to the heartland:
sweet Sheila, to whom I would confide
all my teenage dreams, crushes, and beliefs.
And Sheila had a brother, older, pint-sized too, but oh my!
A wondrous gorgeous guy that Danny was!
And Sheila knew completely how I felt for him.
At our school was Margo, a “bad girl.” Rumors followed her.
In grade school, it was she who happily revealed to me
her hinted-at “real” knowledge of the birds and bees.
For just a while, she and I were friends, then parted ways.
But now in seventh grade, Margo was re-entering my life.
She had her eyes on Danny, and Margo wasn’t playing any games.
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