Starting with the fight in the hallway near my freshman locker across from my English class a hair-ripping, finger-nailed disagreement escalated to a face slap that split a lip We watched… guys yelling – egging them on this catfight girls backing away in groups, fingers to lips It went on forever - well into my junior year when a tiny dark-haired girl couldn’t come to school because the football team screwed her at a party. They were all laughing and talking about Vaseline and how drunk they got her. Today, their young counterparts would have posted the video on TikTok or shared it with the world on Messenger Their bragging rights measured by bonding over that girl’s branding. These Gentlemen go to math class and church on Sundays Shirts cleaned by Mother’s hands There would be talk of that girl That girl What happened to her? and the fight in my ears rang while I held my baby daughter and wondered about the blood on those lips and those cheering men.
Wanderings and Reflections