Red Face
from Heart-Shaped Hands.
“Why’s your face so red?”
My mother asks as I scuttle past her in the kitchen
just back from my stay next door.
It was red from the excitement
pushed up against a door
lips close but not touching
asking if I wanted more
and I did.
I wanted so much more.
He bent be out the window
held my hips
and whispered in my ear
soon enough this would be real
and he’d make me scream his name out to the neighborhood.
My face grows redder still
I’m not allowed to revel in the forbidden exchanges
of young love from opposite lawns.
I know she thinks I must feel ashamed
but my only regret is leaving that
elating thrill of clothed inexperienced bodies
pressing together
for a guilt trip I didn’t deserve.
You can find more memoir/prose by Slaidey Valheim here on the Bits & Bones publication.
Everything under the tag “Heart-Shaped Hands” are excepts from the same titled e-book, available on Amazon.
If you’d like to support the writer and get your hands on all these pieces (and a few more) you can purchase it here!
Thank you for reading!
