13 Poem by Justin Gildow

Standing outside
By the soda machine
At this convenience store
I spy with my little eye
Or just my eyes
A girl dressed in a tank top,
belly ring, hip-hugging bell bottoms,
sketchers, and eye glitter

She looks thirteen
I can tell she's thirteen

In my world
From what I've noticed
This country's in a state of
economic decline

In her world
She's looking for friends
Her friends
While being accepted

The way you look
The way you're dressed
At your age
My dear
Back then
My parents would've put some
sense into me
Looking like a male version of you
Right now
Young and old
Past and present
You have youth
I have experience

You're thirteen
Know I wish you well
Though much to come will come
for you
Whether you're ready for it or not

Hip hop music plays from not too
far away
And here they are
Here they come
They pick you up in the car
And you all are heading to who
knows where
Somewhere

Good luck to you, girl
Good luck to you, kid
You're thirteen
But there's so much you have to be
aware of
Or made aware of
Good luck to you
Maybe I'll see you again one day
Someday
Maybe we'll cross paths again
someday

As you disappear into the distance
With your new friends
Or your so-called friends
I'm off to wherever I want to walk to
Or wherever my feet will take me

Clutching this morning's newspaper
I begin to walk
Wherever it is I'm going to
I know I'll get there
Eventually
One way or another