Lightning Thunder Father

This is a poem I wrote right after graduation from college. My personal blog is very private to me, but I decided to share this on my new blog because it's one of my favorite poems. Enjoy!

I remember when I was 15. I lied about my age to get a job.
I was a hostess at a nice restaurant,
and I walked from home to work, work to home,
every night.

Some people never could put their finger on my age,
I worked there for 8 months.
I remember a boy named David who liked me.
He walked up the stairs and didn't think I could see him.
He stopped two steps shy of the door, shook his headand walked away.
I broke his heart later.

Tonight, watching the lightning glowingthe thunder aching,
I remember walking home alone on a night like this
listening to the sounds of my own steps taking
my own breaths undoing what was done in a day
my hair feeling gusts of wind, but no rain.

My dad was standing in the sidewalk
and I asked him what he was doing
"I'm watching the light show"
I'll never forget him.

I hear the rain begin outside the window of my childhood
I'm here again
Remembering everything
Even a boy named Carlos who wore a yellow shirt the first day of school
Sat next to me and sang "They call me mellow yellow"

He walked me home from work one day
Handsome, older, smelling like cologne
He kissed me for the first time in a playground near my house.

I walked home shy with him
I had almost forgotten his memory.
Rain falls through the walls of this old house.
I remember everything here,
laying in bed, praying to God
asking Him for things I didn't need
Begging him not to give the lessons
I didn't want.