Girl Talk
Are you going to come to my sleepover?
Kyrra whispers across the row to Whitney
What sleepover?
Oh? You didn't know? Kyrra smiles.
Of course Kyrra knows she doesn't know.
That's why she says it,
why it's followed by a coy smile
the power of using "kindness"
to include and exclude
There must be fifty exchanges
like this a day
a complicated language of
smiles, sighs, rolling eyes,
sucking teeth, whispers, notes,
invitations, threats, gossip...
each interaction is a code
to be deciphered
analyzed and then
a crafting of
the perfect response.
I watch it unfold
try to prevent the fall out
and remember my own days
as a twelve year old girl
when you never knew where you stood
and the rules always changed
so you could never trust a friend.
You can't punish cruel intention
like a punch in the nose
this legacy passed down
from girl to girl
from decade to decade
all perpetrators
all victims
our own worst enemies.
Kyrra whispers across the row to Whitney
What sleepover?
Oh? You didn't know? Kyrra smiles.
Of course Kyrra knows she doesn't know.
That's why she says it,
why it's followed by a coy smile
the power of using "kindness"
to include and exclude
There must be fifty exchanges
like this a day
a complicated language of
smiles, sighs, rolling eyes,
sucking teeth, whispers, notes,
invitations, threats, gossip...
each interaction is a code
to be deciphered
analyzed and then
a crafting of
the perfect response.
I watch it unfold
try to prevent the fall out
and remember my own days
as a twelve year old girl
when you never knew where you stood
and the rules always changed
so you could never trust a friend.
You can't punish cruel intention
like a punch in the nose
this legacy passed down
from girl to girl
from decade to decade
all perpetrators
all victims
our own worst enemies.
posted by Emily at 10:52 PM
2 Comments:
"our own worst enemies" you nailed it! this is exactly the thing that sent me running from the intricate social labyrinth of the "feminine world" in 6th grade. nothing about this behavior is kind or of any positive value. i was raised by my father and still gravitate toward friendships with men. at parties, i prefer to participate in men's conversations on building, solving, creating, or exploring while the women gossip.
Thanks for turning on the light...I never realized that this was an issue that permeates the female species and is so all encompassing. I never would have thought that you would have engaged in this, but then, my eyes are constantly being opened wider and wider. Again, thanks for sharing.
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