Once Rebuked

She was a young girl then
Maybe only eight or nine
When Tommy caught her eye.
Oh, he wore dorky glasses
And was kind of goofy
But something about him
Had her single him out.
In her intoxicated state
She dared to dream
All kind of fanciful dreams
About him and her
And what that would be like.
She pondered that
For the eternity of a day or two,
But was faced with one dilemma,
He didn’t seem to know
That she existed.
She made a fateful decision
And decided to let him know
Just how she felt,
So she scribbled a brief note
Asking him if he
Would like to go steady.
She carefully placed the note
Under his book during the break,
Then waited on pins and needles
For his reaction.
It was swift in coming
As Tommy waved the note around
For all to see
Making fun of her request.
She was mortified beyond measure,
Wanted to dig a hole,
Bury herself and hide.
She concluded that day
That it wasn’t safe
To express herself to a guy,
Or even to let the guy know
That she was interested.
Thirty years later
She was still letting
Her younger self’s conclusion
Run her life.
Freedom only came
After she began to question
Whether or not
Playing it safe
Was still her primary concern.