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Playing Pretend
by Kristi Paikit's saturday night
i'm in the hottest place in new york city
exclusivity is essential here
the invisible sign says
MUST BE 65 OR OLDER TO ENTER
the senior citizens home is booming
as a DJ begins to play The Great Pretenders
it's a slow rock-and-roll ballad about some
lost unrequited love
across the room is a waltzing twosome
the only couple on the dance floor now
dancing against wrinkled cheek to cheek
a smirk upon their faces, as if to say
Yes, I am the great pretender
they close their eyes and suddenly
her skin smooths to teenage silk
as his basically bald head sprouts
a jocky crewcut slicked back with pom
she wonders if he'll give her his varsity jacket
while he wonders whether he'll make it to
second or third base on the first date
Or dare to dream of sliding home....
An Eisenhower-era impossibility.
He'll take her home before curfew
and kiss her, pecking at her cheek at the front door
The 50's were decades ago
"All the way", he sighs and whispers;
"All the way," she chuckles
The golden anniversary duo sneak up to the bedroom
Careful not to wake the parents.
01/05/2009 Posted on 01/05/2009
Copyright © 2025 Kristi Paik
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by George Hoerner on 01/06/09 at 12:52 AM From one of that generation this is really nice. I have to say it also depends upon where you grew up. I only knew 6 girls in the immediate in which I lived and 50% were virgins. I lived in a physically closed area, 2 blocks west was a cemetery, 1 block south was a major expressway built during WWll, 1 block was the major US highway running north and south through the state, 1 block north was a 4 lane highway with nothing on the other side of it. Girls got pregnant back then also but it was kept rather quite. Thanks for bringing all back. |
| Posted by Jared Orlando on 01/06/09 at 02:24 AM i absolutely loved this. hopefully we all can be smooth at a ripe old age :) |
| Posted by Mary Frances Spencer on 01/06/09 at 04:29 AM LOL! Special and Sweet! MFS |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 08/05/17 at 11:11 PM This is as smooth and sexy as "the stroll." You take me there and take me back. Thanks for this. |
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