50 People - 10 Poem by Raj Dronamraju

10

He always fancied himself some kind of half-ass explorer
He was the first in his class to get lost in the woods
He was the first in his class to drive the family car to school (the second older one)

When he stops for red lights, he always stops too late
And his car is half in, half out of the intersection

I think I'll call you Jimmy even though your name is not Jimmy
Because Jimmy sounds like a good name for someone with an impetuous nature boosted by luck of birth and family situation
But who ends up managing an apartment complex or on a road crew for the county

So Jimmy in quotations, let's harness restless energy to something down to Earth and real
Why do you cut off listening halfway through the sentence?
Your father just stopped acknowledging you
You know he really doesn't love you when he stops yelling at you

And school also didn't love you
You winked and shook and was too physical with the other boys
Spat out obscenities at the first instance of gentle teasing