The Perks of being a Wallflower

[thatsjustsuper]

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
             he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
             because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
             and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
             and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
             took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
             with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a 
             Valentine signed with a row of X's
             and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
             he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
             because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
             and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
             because of its new paint
And the kids told him
             that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
that was the year his sister got glasses
             with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
             when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
             his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
             when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook
             he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
             because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
             and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
             because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
             of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
             making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
             or even talked
And the girl around the corner
             wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
             but he kissed her anyway
             because that was the thing to do
And at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed
             his father snoring soundly

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
             he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
             because this time he didn't think
             he could reach the kitchen.