First Kiss Poem by Milton Johanides

Back then, last year of school,
Sylvia was important to me,
Both directing my dreams and starring in them.
I first saw her in the late spring,
Squeezing past the bus conductor to take the steps
Up to the top deck of the one-two-nine bus into town,
Short school skirt swaying as she climbed.
By the time she got to the top it was heaven
Legs like pillars of sculpted ice.
We were sixteen.
I followed her up and found a seat with a perfect view.
With Sylvia the views were always perfect
The tops of trees in the park turning pink
Against bundles of white cumulus
The black and white of Tudor gables lining the streets
And Sylvia´s quickly maturing bosom pressed tight against her blouse.
Weeks later, by chance, she walked into our disco
And I pinched myself to make sure I wasn´t dreaming
She turned heads and my mates started slapping each other on the back
I just waited...
On the disco safari they always found me
Falling for my big kissable lips, grappling hook of black greasy hair,
I don´t know what, but all I had to do was wait,
And there she was
Watching me.
Nothing more.
We let our eyes do the talking.
I gave my mates the finger and joined her by the bar where they served beer in cola bottles.
I loved the way they all looked stunned
The Trollope sixth form boys
As she rested her hand on my shoulder.
Later she got flustered and bunched in on herself
Trying to fend me off but at the same time hoping I would stay.
In the end everything went right.
I held her attention with the force of my desire.
I took her back to her house in Dagenham
As far as her front door
And got my first kiss,
Nothing more.