Mist lying in the deep valleys,
sunrise on white windmills, fresh cool air
blowing down from Canada after the rain.
Heard the mate-seeking brag of the rufous sided towhee
before I spotted him posing at the top of the thicket.
On my walk home, I passed a pair of teenage girls
boarding the school bus, talking animatedly
oblivious to the morning chill
in their summer shorts and tiny tops.
A kid pulled out right behind the bus in a banged up Toyota.
He grasped the wheel at ten and two,
wearing a frown of concentration and a baseball cap pulled low.
His studied air made me think he had timed it just so!
Because who wants to be stuck behind a school bus?
Except a guy with a shiny new driver’s license and a second hand car.
Did he hope that every time the bus wheezed to a stop
the girls would turn in the back seat and sneak glances at him,
gazing casually off into the distance,
and note the slight bob of his head keeping time
with the rock tune playing loud through his out-sized speakers?
Perhaps he dreamed of catching a small finger ripple from the redhead,
a half wave that could be turned into a hair flick if not reciprocated.
Did he hesitate for a second – who me?
Before realizing that yes, there was no one else around,
so that yes, that slight dimple in the cheek and finger flutter
must be for him. And yes, I imagined the slow creeping grin
and the deep hollow of lust and loneliness in his gut
flooding with happiness.
Melissa Shaw-Smith 
What a fine moment’s capture.
Thank you, Jim. Funny how the mind rambles while your out rambling!
really cute and serious at the same time! >
Thanks, Bernice. Glad you enjoyed it.
You captured the spirit of teenagers in spring just perfectly! It makes me smile with recognition.
Time passes but human nature doesn’t change! Thank you for reading, Adele.
Thanks for the flashback from all of us men who were once that boy looking for that flick of a girls hair, the sly smile and the hope of Spring! Happy Fathers Day to all those past boys of Spring
You’re welcome!
Well described Melissa, you caught the emotion well. It reminds me of the young guys here who drive around on their own with windows open and music pumping loud, driving up and down the beach front hoping to impress the girls. I can remember my daughter saying to me one day when she was younger. These guys are trying to impress the girds, but we all think they are loosers if that is the description of their attractiveness and relationship qualities. Thanks for sharing Melissa, your poetry always has a beautiful depth to it.
Always nice to know when you hit a note that we all recognize. Thanks for letting me know!
a fine reflection
of the call of the wild
expressed creatively,
human style 🙂
fish, feather, skin
lust and attraction
are next of kin
“…a small finger ripple…”
sigh.
I am smitten
So glad to hear that, Charissa. Thank you for reading!
Ah, that was me once: dreaming.
I well remember how the intensity and uncertainty of those first crushes were bitter sweet.
More bitter than sweet for me! I was terrified, paralyzed, and tongue-tied as a youth in love! I don’t know that I’ve changed that much!