Darrell Gahm - firsts

the full moon peeks down on us
human rats, scurrying for its
celestial amusements,
and I find myself thinking
about the first time I got drunk,
under the table in my parent’s kitchen,
aged 12, on vodka and orange juice,
thinking about the first time I felt
the tender softness of a woman’s flesh,
aged 23, living in an attic,
in starving mad poverty,
thinking about the first time I saw
a baby’s smile, aged 27,
terrified of life’s possibilities
and responsibilities,
thinking about the first time I buried
a grandmother, aged 24,
paying lip service, lacking emotion,
I may as well have been flushing
a bloated goldfish,
thinking about the first time I
got behind the wheel of a car,
solo,
crashing my ride into the fence post,
thinking about the first time I said
“I love you” and had someone
say it back with meaning…

Darrell Gahm

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/firsts-3/