youthfulness exists to encourage imagination
breeds deceit     
innocent stares bleed into confused looks—
the young perform

elders don’t remember life at 15
can’t forget the feeling of youth

beach summers
salt air kinky hair
bonfires with the love of your life
skinny dipping         for the first time
your hand out the window of a moving car
gliding a long empty road
candy apple juice
dripping down your chin

the stories of the young
include the things gotten
the wonder        the awe

my generation invented rebellion
as did my mother's   
her mother's
and yours
we all think we did it first

let's not dramatize ignorance
parents let us hang ourselves
let us pick the curfews
then they counter to show control
as we lie about our age        they listen
they laugh
did the same         learned
true age hides behind the spirit
the health
the mind     where  youthfulness exists