Pink Heart Stockings

I will never forget that day

The summer of love, though it was 1986

School was out but for us kids who had nowhere to go we came here

The day camp of children and teens where we spent days playing

I was always alone

Not by choice but by circumstance

The boy from another country with no friends

Everyone else had roots here and could find things in common to bind them

Half the summer gone, halfway to getting back to reality

Suddenly you appeared

Small, slender, with long, wavy dirty blond hair and a face of perfection

Your skin was white and lips pink and glossy

You had just moved to this town and you were put here to kill time like all of us

The day you arrived happened to be a special day

Not only because you walked into my life but because we were having a dance

Summer school gymnasium, streamers, DJ, and paper plates with Doritos

The music was top 40 hits and everyone was decked out in hip clothes

I sat against the wall wearing my corduroy pants and Michael Jackson t-shirt

You were wearing a black and pink dress with white stockings

Stockings with little pink hearts that belonged to all the boys in the room

You had stolen all our hearts as you were the most perfect thing in the room

I sat against the wall and watched as you stood with a group of girls

But unlike all the other girls chatting and laughing, you stood silent

Your face was calm, your eyes glistening, you face a mixture of curiosity and anxiety

The shy angel on her first day of summer school in a new town

My heart was pounding to the beat of the DJ booth speakers

My hands were shaking just a little because I was considering walking up to you to dance

I stood up and slowly walked through the dance floor towards you

Boys who were watching you and building up their courage to ask you to dance waited in anticipation

I was two steps away from you but it felt like a mile

I opened my mouth but froze when you made eye contact with me

It was now or never so I tried to say something

You were about to say something to me but the moment was gone

A tall, good-looking popular boy took your hand and pulled you on the dancefloor

I, the tiny boy from another country and culture withered away like dry leaves in fall

I turned around and walked back to the wall of shame

I watched as the handsome boy caressed the beautiful angel to the sounds of Lionel Richie

The dance finished, the lights came back on, the students went home

I walked back to my home slowly, thinking about how close I was to perfection

Your face and eyes as they made contact with mine played in a loop in my head

I was so entranced by you that I kept imaging you were calling my name

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and realized it was you in real life and you were calling my name

You introduced yourself and we walked together in the night

We laughed and talked all the way to your home, which was two floors below mine

As we rode the elevator, you pulled out your Miss Piggy Pez and offered me one

Until you gave me candy, called my name, walked with me, and became my friend

I had thought I was different and unlovable

In one night and a small gesture, you convinced me that love was possible

For that, you will always have my pink heart on your stocking