When I Danced On Skates

When I Danced On Skates

it all started with a dramatic entrance

my self-deprecating hyper- aware BFF

in toe – both of us on roller skates

my crazy ass legs & fancy foot work

sent me colliding into a mirrored wall

                all for the promise of cute boys

the hardwood floors of the roller disco

                ravaged my virtue

a step up from losing rolls of quarters

in a dim-lit smoke-filled video arcade

I traded smelling like a filthy ashtray

for a life for girl sass – lacing up skates

in           

                crop tops

                fab leggings

                headbands

                leg-warmers

                rainbow socks

nearly cobalt blue smoky eyes

& too cool for school attitude

our style:  decidedly mature for sure

brightly coloured pom-poms on the

                toes of the skates led me

cruising around the rink skating backwards

weaving though the reflection of the disco

ball & bopping strobes

to all 14 thumping minutes of Rapper’s Delight

the rocky quiver & twist of Ballroom Blitz

ending up at the snack bar for cold soda pops

absorbing the hidden tensions that make

young love so hard

between the slight the plump the oo-la-las

                & the James Blondes

the night I had my first skate kiss the place

was crawling w drunk teen-agers roller boogying

                … ahh freak out …

me & my Cyndi Lauper BFF

snuck a bottle of beer she stole from her uncle’s

fridge into the bathroom to cool off like big shots

titter a little & change back into our black cotton

parachute pants & pastel shaker-knit sweaters

head back to the snack bar to ogle the fair

object of my lip smacker leaning cool

& watch pepperoni pizza dry out under a heat lamp

until Dad rolled up in the snot green station wagon

                those were the days

when I danced in skates with my screwball BFF

    kissing boys       

                in the heavy heat

                of that roller skating rink

                every Saturday night

oh … to be young is to be light

**

It is to be noted that I listened to Rapper’s Delight, in its entirely, on repeat, until I finished writing this.

It was fun.

In propinquity,

Nic