White shirted we sat
In the warm clingy moistness of the meadow.
Even though I was still a boy
I felt like a man,
My life had been changed forever.
Our little group of friends, sitting in the shade
Of the Oak by the slopping tributary
That flowed near our feet.
As we sat, my love squeezed my hand,
Drawing my attention away from my friends
Having fun on the rope swing across the stream
That beckoned me, mischieviously challenging.
But the pressure on my hand was also a challenge
To choose between my love and my friends.
It was the first but never the last time
I would make such a choice in my life.
My love won this bout.
I slumped back into her arms,
Into that hot-skinned embrace, drunk with her scent
And sleepily eyed my old friends with suspicion.
A warning look of protection for my love
If they came too near.
Love affected my mind that day
And although it was months before
The physical joining of our bodies
I realised..
My childhood had already lost its innocence.