Of course
I'd kiss (on the first date)
I'd do a lot of things (on the first date)
(weather permitting)
The milky look in the eyes
The quivering shiver in her lips
She descends on me like a bubble bath
Her fingers like suds thru my hair
Her back a playground slide
My hands try to hold on
Can't help but slip
over the bump
(and now)
We're on the ground
Giggling
A pair of six-year-olds
kissing behind the jungle gym
A red-faced teacher with mouth agape
Can't string the vowel sounds together
At the sight
of the silly kids
kneeling
hands clasped
"She's the mommy,
I'm the daddy,"
with an exuberance, a glow
a lush colour in the cheeks
sitting in the dusty white playground pebbles
games of tag run around us
seemingly unseen
'cept for a tomato-faced grade six teacher
can't think of anything to do
but yank me by the hand to the office
my other hand pulling along my wife
across the paved play area
thru the musty June hallways
boxes line the walls
cluttered pace
to a pale lit room
old diplomas, school bulletins
photocopies on pink 8 1/2 by 11"
and she has no idea how to explain this
and we're still giggling
(but now)
with a terrifying fear
swelled up in our cheeks
a sharp needle pain in each side
it hurts to laugh this much
stop laughing and we'll cry
our little faces'll wash away
pour onto the floor
puddle in our velcro sneakers
mine blue, hers pink
it's just a shivering, giggling blur
us two
the tomato
the secretaries laughing
'cept for the stern faced one
in her alimony pantsuit
who figures
our parents
must be perverts