Chewing Gum

Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash

Back in first grade I put gum in a boy’s hair
while we waited in line for our parents to pick us up from school
It was my way of saying ‘I love you and I want you to hang around a little longer’
It worked.
He had to hang around long enough to have a chunk of his hair cut off
and his dad to be so mad at me his face almost turned blue

When I first saw you I was sad I didn’t have any gum left
But you stayed anyways
and I was happy I could stroke your hair
instead of chopping it off

When I see you now
I still look for gum in my pockets
But all I can find are love notes
written on old wrappers.

For Tomáš.