Ditch the ads, upload images and much more - upgrade today from 5.95/month!
Read • Contests • Groups • Learn • Forums • Store • Help
 

Because I Wanted To (Just Won't Do)



I had fifteen minutes
in a hard chair at the table,

to think about why -
 
why had I cut Susan’s bangs
completely off
using mama’s kitchen scissors?

why did we dye our hair
with green lime jello
and draw petals around our
tiny pink nipples
with daddy’s black Sharpie?

why was I acting like the Devil,
his tail all twisted up
in a knot?


So, I thought about why -

 

why I would never be in

an all-girl band,

why was I so damn tall?

why did the stupid Devil

always have to be brought

into things?

 

why did fifteen minutes

seem like an eternity?

 

Author notes

Prompt: fifteen (the age, the number, w/e it makes you think of)

true story - I was also grounded for a week because Susan's mother
had such a fit

In a list

A contest entry

    : , Your review:

    Comment Suggestion: What is your your first impression?
    : no Cost: 0 free left 0 points, You have (?)

Comments

1 - 34 of 34

  • kiwigirljacks gold member
    November 5
    Edit | Reply
    This is sooo cute!! Ahh the things we do as kids


  • Amalthae
    October 29
    Edit | Reply

    cute.

    i <3'ed it!


  • afroqban
    October 24

    Edit | Reply
    I love true poems! they are always written with heart and not just some creative way to wow people. this is awesome, wonderful write


  • LizRiz
    October 20

    Edit | Reply
    You deserve a trophy for this one. Dalaney, your work is excellento!

    I run out of words each time :/


  • JinSays gold member
    October 19

    Edit | Reply
    why did the stupid Devil
    always have to be brought
    into things?
    My mother and her stupid Devil. . .
    I took an eyeliner one time, and wrote 666 on my forehead, and went to school like that, to piss my mom off. It didn't work, she laughed at me all the way to school. So did everyone else, and I learned a very valuable lesson. Just don't have any idea what it was, except don't do anything stupid like that again.

    Good luck in this challenge, but you don't need it.
    jin

  • emo19girl
    October 17
    Edit | Reply

    4/5

    haha this poem is awesome and the fact that its true is awesome it made me laugh thx

  • nevadapoet
    October 16
    Edit | Reply
    your talent is blinding me shining so brightly.

    Shelly


  • SimplyKristenForever
    October 16
    Edit | Reply
    That was so good. It's like the song by kid rock, with all the memories we made...very cute.

  • Tennessee-Joe
    October 14

    Edit | Reply

    Great Look

    Soory for the delay, My grandson needed me for his second birthday.
    I need a haircut, still got your mama's sissors?
    Joe


  • balenciaga silver member
    October 13

    Edit | Reply

    sosososososoosososobueno!

    so, i totally did this,... but to myself at age 4 . I cut my bangs to the scalp,too lol...let's just say my mother was extremely unhappy lol. I had super short hair for like 2 months



  • tara wilson gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    lolol....oh, the crazy things we did as kids/teens, too...does that really work, lime jello?

    a very engaging 15 minutes....
    =)


  • Pure Thought silver member
    October 12
    Edit | Reply

    My Lady

    At least you and Susan are still friends.
    Wonderful snapshot, thank you.


  • arafura
    October 12
    Edit | Reply
    Great write. You're still a bad girl... go straight to my room!


  • notorious
    October 12
    Edit | Reply
    Oh...also adored the title.

  • notorious
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    L.M.A.O.! So much for me abstaining from acronyms, but this is plain genius and hilarity seamlessly...cut together.


    I love your adjectives--they are effortlessly inserted, it seems to me. e.g. hard chair

    Your true stories feel so real to me, I love that.

    As for cutting a friend's hair...
    well yes, I've done that quite a few times, and my mom was like --and that was when I was in gr. 6 and probably should've known better, but I was intrigued by scissors and hair, ya know!!

    "green lime jello"
    Did you really!!
    Is that even possible? LMAO

    "why was I acting like the Devil,
    his tail all twisted up
    in a knot?"
    Haha!!
    Yes, I love the capitalization of 'Devil' and the tail and knot thing seems to be a reference to hair...love it.

    Those last two lines pose that question--well you know, fifteen minutes is a bloody long time when you're bored, supposed to be pensive when you're not, or just waiting for something.

    You made this real.
    Thanks for entering.

    Jessica



  • DolceVito gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply

    Very cute.

    Cute childhood memories. I hope you learned your lesson
    Love,
    Vito


  • Allan Emery silver member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    Ha ha ha ha ha. You hellian! I was always a straight arrow, 'cept for the times I wasn't.

    Can I have another slice of this?


  • Sesheta
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    How lively! Seems to me that you weren't a boring child, at least.

    That's what I did when punished, too; think about other things. It's much more fun.

    Love the glimpse into mischief! Always fun to read.

  • Arzab
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    I love how you can make a time from the past come alive through words. The high school years is a time when people dream about being many things and it can be hard to try to get a more realistic outlook on life and give up on those big band dreams. Thanks for sharing your talent and best of luck in the contest.


  • Mairi bheag gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    I know what you mean. I'm still waiting for the call, even though I wouldn't know one end of a Fender Stratocaster from the other.


  • zochit2me gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    LMAO
    My middle daughter did this to my youngest hidden away in the bathroom...
    chopped them to the scalp.

    The things kids do makes us laugh when we get older...

    love it!


  • marc creamore
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    Oh God! You nailed this one Lanie . . . my 15 year old daughter also longs to be a part of an all girl band . . . I remember when I was that age and blew a harmonica until my lips damn near bled, thinking me and a couple of friends were going to make it in the music industry . . . So well said . . .

    Marc


  • paulcreates silver member
    October 12
    Edit | Reply
    In a very real sense I can see the answer to the first four stanzas contained within the fifth one. Social interaction is such a strong internal drive at that age that when that drive is frustrated, it is resolved through deviance. However, I would think these adolescent actions are far from severe. Hair grows back, lime jello can be washed out, and as for making flowers of your nipples, I'd try to nurture your artistic ability instead of punishing for it.
    But that's me...not your mother.

    This reads like a slice of life but the question/answer element makes it especially poetic.

    Good job.

    Your friend,
    Paul

  • kibo no hikari
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    Wow... it's something that you can write something so vivid and beautiful from such a thing. I love the conclusion too - it makes a poignant point that I truly believe in.


  • Swangrnv gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply

    l.o.l.

    The wonder of youth(as in, I wonder how the hell we ever made it out of it?) This is so very vivid, I swear it's a story that seems similar to something I know went down with my sisters when we were growing up! I'm positive about the hair thing, because it seems as though all little girls at one time or another 'butcher' their hair trying out 'new' styles! l.o.l. Excellent write my friend, and nice to know you made it through those tenuous moments of adolescence.


  • cricketjeff gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    I was rather hoping it didn't happen last week

    Another slice of your past that leaves such a delicious taste in the mouth

    Wonderful poetry!


  • Ylova silver member
    October 12
    Edit | Reply
    Brilliant write!! Good luck in the contest


  • AutumnGypsy gold member
    October 12

    Edit | Reply
    This is brilliant hun, I remember when I was 15 I sprayed my hair with green hair spray without reading on the can it says do not apply to blonde hair, yep, you guessed it, green until it grew out lol. Your poem gave me a smile, a laugh and a walk down memory lane. I always wanted to be in the duet Salt'N'Pepa, never happened either. Brilliant! Best to you in the contest

1 - 34 of 34