Metamorphosis

He walks away from me.
Walks with head held high –
Shoulders broad enough
For some pretty head to cry on.

He moves away from me
Moves on toward the sunrise.
Strides tall enough
To span continents, space, time.
He grows away from me.
Grows up and onwards –
From jock-straps and gym shoes
Wet kisses and cuddling
To ‘Debonair’ and dinner-jackets
Deadlines and meetings of the Board.

He turns away from me
After an awkward adieu –
An abrupt but necessary cutting of the ulumbical
He floats free.
I smile and wave him on
Padlocking the bedroom door
To stifle
The sounds of my soul
Gasping and crying lungfuls
Into the dying, frigid night.


Frank Krishner, 15, January 94, Ranipul, Sikkim. Edited 18 June 2006.

Note:
Jock-straps: Anglo-Indian boarding school slang for underwear or briefs [from Jockeys]
‘Debonair’ was a popular gentleman’s magazine in India in the 19990’s.