Marco Polo
A poem for the girls who so rudely interrupted my vacation
Sun, breeze, ocean
Sunscreen, coconut water, hot terrycloth
Salty ions abounding
Peace
And then
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Slicing right through my noise-cancelling headphones
I look over at the pool
Dear God, there are ten of them
Nowhere for the adults to go
The preteens have taken over
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Neon pink and orange and blue and yellow
Against brown, brown skin
Black curls magically staying curly
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Chaperone checked out under the umbrella
Perusing the spa menu
How rude
How inconsiderate
How entitled
How…
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Wait.
Because I remember
I know
That soon
All too soon
Too too soon
The world will make them move
The world will tell them they are
Too loud
Too much
Too rowdy
Too aggressive
Too _____
So fuck it
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Take up the space
Take the whole damn place
Your laughter is sunshine
Your energy is hope
Your presence is celebration
Your joy is a salve
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Louder
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
Prouder
“Marco!”
“Polo!”
“POLO!”
“POLO!!”
I love this!