messy wisdom

There is nothing quite as cruel as being a teenage girl
too many question marks pass my lips on sentences that do not ask questions
not enough calories pass my hips for days and days and days and 
Amber gangs the girls on me again.
so I listen to my friend with little golden curls and PA roots
I see myself refracted in her cd jewel case,
glimmers of precocious girls with music box hearts 

and like a sage older sister I take her word like gospel
emulating her stained glass life and still breaking mine all the same,
after school, Jesse strums Breathe on my voicemail to impress me 
as I play music videos in my mind's eye against the school bus windows


There is nothing quite as cruel as being a promising young woman
too many question marks pass my lips on sentences that do not ask questions
not enough calories pass my hips for days and days and days and 
Tom gets the nod from the CEO again.
so I listen to my friend with the $1 suit and a rhinestone blazer 
follow the lead of her red-bottom moves,
and hand paint the outsoles of my shoes to match

and like a kindred spirit we live concurrent lives
fifteen prismatic years gone by and she still gets me all the same 
and as I walk home, the faint descant of an old friend rings in my ear
and I will sing along for evermore.