April is National Poetry Month! Here is another Matthew Van Der Boot inspired poem.
China Girl (not that one by David Bowie)
Squeezed next to you in the back seat,
She hugs her knapsack to her chest,
bare knees pressed together,
a booted foot on each side of the drive shaft.
You stare out the driver’s side window.
Tears for Fears plays, “Mad World.”
The beat ticking by with the same rhythmic
blur of the passing headlights.
The drifting melody and drawn-out harmonies
work in opposition, suspending time.
You are outside of yourself, floating,
a contradiction of sensation and emotion.
You want to wrap her in a protective blanket,
ask her why she’s been crying,
tell her everything will be alright.
You want to kiss her mouth,
pull off that oversized sweater,
touch every part of her.