booksartyoume

'every kiss' or 'my store bought hippie clothes' timothy r gates, 8/14/2008

kiss,
every one
i remember
mind's eye
better, these days,
than my eyes.
at 17,
eyes better.
every kiss
each one:
the best!
was a hippie,
in my mind,
on the picket lines,
wearing my store bought
pants made out of a flag,
from a men's store,
an american crest shirt,
with a state of ohio flag as a cape,
the coolest of all choices.
idealism
romanticism
full of bullshit
full of piss and vinegar,
bought and paid for my liberalism.
accounting professor,
WWII vet,
whispered into my ear (he did),
the day i was kicked out of school
yes, for my men's store hippie clothes,
'if i ever see you out,
i'll kill you!'
nearly pissed my pants.
protested in my designer peace-outfit.
idealist?
romantic?
(never more than fifty others present at our rallies;
today, like Woodstock,
everyone says they were there)
hell yes.
i was seventeen,
just like when i was sixteen,
i did what i believed.