Skunk Cabbage

I was five or six
The small creek
Behind the school
Held a patch of
Skunk cabbage.

I would pick some
And chase the girls
Especially the girl
I liked best that day.

The girls squealed
And ran away.

Somehow I knew
They secretly liked
The attention.

Although many years
Have passed and
I haven’t seen or held
Any since my youth
I still chase girls with
Skunk cabbage.

September 2005