ABC Poem by Chela Novak (2011)
A piece of paper floated down from the hands of a
Boy who held the rest of my heart in his fingers.
Careful, he whispered, and I wished he’d let the fake words linger.
Delicacy was on my mind in a way, and
Everything seemed to take longer in this place that was quiet.
Forget me, okay? I haven’t been around so long that you should
Give up on who I made you.
He pressed a piece of paper in to the hands of me, and
I realized I held the rest of my heart in my fingers.
Just so, he whispered, I can’t
Keep myself away from you. You know that I’ll
Linger:
and I remember that
Malt liquor was your father’s favorite things in the hands of a
New accomplice and none
Of those things were relevant to the fact that we were
Protecting ourselves from asking
Questions. I
Revolved around you and my revolutions had
Stopped.
Turn around, you whispered, and I wished he’d let his hands stay
Under my cashmere sweater, staying warm and applying
Varying pressure to my hips that were moving farther away from our diluted
Water of love. I forget about those
X-rated lies and I held the rest of my heart in my fingers.
You threw that piece of paper down from your hands and the remaining
Zest of my heart didn’t linger.
– Chela Novak, 12th grade, The Ross School.
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