God I felt like I was a man!
Striding tall with a new found swagger.
The first time I had felt no fear,
My shyness had been dissolved in the glare of the moon.
I could walk up to any girl in the neighbourhood
And kiss her.
I could take on the bullies at school
And smash their faces to pulp.
For I was twelve years old and drunk.
Standing in the gloom of that back alley,
I was dwarfed by my brother and his mates.
I alone stood out.
The obligatory studded leather jacket was absent
From my slight shoulders and I was surrounded
By spiked hair and Mohicans silhouetted against the moon
Like a tribe of hostile Red Indians.
Adolescent growls noted my presence with resentment,
Safety pins and nose studs glinted in the cold night air.
And so I was turned out from their tribe.
My brother grudgingly provided me with provisions
For my journey home;
A packet of cigarettes with three left,
A box of matches and a two litre bottle
Of the worst supermarket lager.
Yes, I felt I would be accepted one day.
Striding home that night,Big Man walking my new name,
I felt like a King amongst men.
And beer has never tasted so good since.
I had tasted freedom
And the first foolishness of adolescence.
