For the summer I’m looking at my Brown Betty chapbook. All the pieces dealt with growing up in Cape Breton. As usual WordPress imposes its own line breaks 😦
When I Was A Young Boy
when I was a young boy
I kissed a girl
when I was a young boy
about 11
I kissed a girl
she was about 11
it was at a birthday party
not hers
she was wore a frilly rose-yellow dress
I wore a white shirt and tie
so maybe it wasn’t a birthday party
maybe a wedding
there were about a dozen of us
kids from various families
kids that sort of knew each other
made to dress like little adults
we watched adults kissing greeting
and like little adults we kissed
I don’t remember her name
but I kissed her
she didn’t seem to mind
then we chased each other
sneaking kisses
till we were caught
someone’s mother
gave a little shocked shriek
‘oh you naughty kids’
the other kids picked that up
and ran around
calling me ‘naughty boy’
‘naughty boy’
while the little girl I kissed
blushed then joined in with them
as if it was all my fault
all my idea
the adults got in on it after awhile
‘oh look there’s the naughty boy
watch out or he’ll kiss you’
when I was a young boy
I kissed a girl
I learned my lesson
I never a kissed another girl
This piece starts as a traditional English ballad. There are many variations on this beginning – when I was a young …. is the start of many a story, almost like ‘once upon a time.’ Even the ‘I kissed’ come out of the old school tradition. Though there is also a nod some recent pop songs. The party setting is also very tradition – the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner starts with the mariner talking to a wedding guest.
The piece plays on the nature of memory, of place, circumstances. Growing up I ended up at similar events, wearing a shirt & tie with kids I didn’t know, some of whom I never saw again either. The story unfolds in a sweet logically way, much as the traditional ballad would tell the story, adding layer so detail as it progressed. In ballad the hero always faced some sort of ‘conflict.’
I’ve always found it puzzling when young children are asked if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend while the idea of children’s sexuality is so fought with fear & shame at once. Their lack of sexual knowledge is praised, almost encouraged & shamed all at the same time.
This piece was written for a class I took Make-A-Scene on performative story telling. https://wp.me/p1RtxU-7V, https://wp.me/p1RtxU-83, When I performed it I wore shorts, a white shirt & a playful tie. The girl was played by a helium balloon with a string that put it at about about shoulder height to me. I found one with a girl’s face on it. My class mates did the ‘naughty boy’ shaming. At the end of the piece I cut the string and it floated away.
Hey! Now you can give me $$$ to defray blog fees & buy coffee on my trip to Cape Breton – sweet,eh? paypal.me/TOpoet
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