AWAKENING

It was simple curiosity
Nothing more
Nine-year-old boys know
There is something creaturely
Different about girls
They just don’t know what
Which is why I stared
At Karen Rohrer
And Shirley Heisey
And Laura Mae Enterline
Especially Laura Mae Enterline
She was tall with long arms
She had eyes as blue as cornflowers
When she laughed
She opened her mouth wide
She had thin lips
She was different
Not like boys
Not even like the other girls
And she was older -- twelve
Looking at her
Made coming to school
Wonder full