THE CHEERLEADER AND THE SNAKE

This poem is a prompt from the lovely Jill Badonsky, my creativity coach teacher.  http://www.themuseisin.com/

She asked that we pick an event in our lives and let it find it’s importance in a prose, poetic, sorta way.

This was a very significant event in my life.  It lead to the first most embarrassing experience of my life.  I have had a few…

This was fun to write this morning.  It just sorta fell outta me. I hope you enjoy it.

CHEERLEADER AND THE SNAKE

On more Rah Rah and a sky high cheerleader jump

To Earth was my skirt round my feet in a slump

White cotton girls slip and white round collar blouse

Imprisoned am I in the brown plaid serpent of the gym house

 

300 hundred, a thousand, a million eyes all on me

Standing there in silence with my skirt  past my knees

The sixth grade basket ball game came to a screeching halt

For me in slow motion trying to figure how to get out

 

Of standing in the center of this gym floor all alone

With a million, gaggilion people staring at my little girl bones

The silence was deafening, my horror was bold

When the crowd in the bleacher stood with their cheers in a loud roll

 

All over my body the roar trembled from head to feet

The cheering and laughing closed in to my narrowing defeat

I shivered and quivered and grabbed at that snake

Quietly laying round my feet so damn sedate

 

It hissed and shimmied and gave in with relent

Only to meet at my knees as I shuffled and went

Past the crowd cross that shiny miles of gym floor

Desperate to get to that far away exit door

 

The family, the friends the entire school had come

To witness the joy of this small town’s homecoming fun

And me with my Rah and cheer a snake at my feet

Embarrassed beyond whether the boys won or got beat

 

Trembling beyond anything I had ever known

Huddled by the door with the millions and feeling alone

All eyes were on me now what was I at last to do

They’d all stopped their cheering afraid for my boo hoo

 

From somewhere deep inside me I certainly don’t know

A riotous laughter was bubbling and ready to show

Before all these people, before I had any clue

Out of my mouth loud laughter it flew

 

A little hysteria, maybe a little ingenue

It was funny, ridiculous, I had no boo hoo

The crowd joined me in laughter and wowed me  sublime

The sixth grade boys wouldn’t forgive me for taking their time

 

Selfish boys they do that cause they must

I was the center of the that homecoming fuss

My cheerleading ways they ended that day

It wasn’t the path for my bohemian way

 

Girls like me didn’t take to the cheerleading cheer

My joy was exulted in my journey for there to here

Many a Rah, a cheer, and a hoot tootie toot toot

I’m friends with that serpent that laid my skirt to my boots