DELLY (with a side of penguins)

by - April 09, 2020


for my very delly friend, Yoko

I can't remember how me met
so I like to make up fantasies

Because for some reason it feels important
to know the beginning of our story
Even if it's only the start 

I pretend to know.

I. 
I'd like to think we're soul sisters
And perhaps in another life, twins
maybe we met in orchestra
but I don't think that's it.

Was it our passion for reading
where we had a friend version
of a "meet cute" in our school's 
ridiculously tiny library?

Or was it that class we had together
in which we rarely talked at first
because I was constantly

living in a book

and you had your own friends?

II.
What I do remember is Scrabble and

D-E-L-L-Y

but nobody batted an eye
until a boy came up as class ended
and said "what the heck is that?"

it was the joke of the week
"Are you dellying okay?"
"I feel just delly"

We looked like manic fools
but we didn't care
because all was right
In the world

III.
I remember early mornings after WEB
filming a message for the friend 
who'd just moved away

jumping up and down  
on concrete benches

making the wackiest faces
The other students stared

but we didn't care
because all was right
In the world

IV.
Or those lazy study halls
sixth period silliness

when we were all taking pictures of everyone else

I still have a few of you,
hiding in a black sweatshirt
peeking out against 
the green webbed lunch tables

I stole your glasses, running around the cafeteria
Peels of tangerine laughter 

echoing,
turtles all the way down

but we didn't care
because all was right in the world.

V.
Or in seventh grade
When we complained about
the lack of boyfriend material in this dump

You told me about Penguin
and the boy with the golden hair

My imagination took it, and flew
For months, I spammed you
wIth all you penguin stickers
Hangouts could afford me

Shamelessly retelling the tale 
on loop

you didn't care mind (most days)
because all was right in the world

VI.
But then you told us
That you were leaving
And my brain didn't

wouldn'tcouldn't

wrap around it
We toasted to having "The best year there'll ever be"
And steamrolled on

We still couldn't care
because right then, 
all was still right in our world

VII.
And then there was Florida
A week that was
full of rollercoasters
literally
Together,
we got drenched
we shrIeKed ScreaMed laUgheD

Oh, how we laughed
ever so much
when we sang disney waiting in line
and how a random dude ahead of us
belted "Let It Go"

And we couldn't care
because all was right in our world

VIII.
On the last day of school
You, me, and all of our friends
gathered at your place
You made pizzas
With the weirdest toppings
We sang songs
Crowding around
the Arcadian version
of a bonfire
Trying so hard
to recreate
every moment
But even then
We couldn't,
wouldn't care
Because all was right
In our world

IX.
And then I left first
And you left too
So I chased you 
all the way to Japan
Which by the way,
looking back,
was insane

I've never told you this
Or at least I haven't
verbally
But on the plane ride there,
I found I couldn't breathe
thinking about you,
a lump formed in my throat
tears leaked out of my eyes
and dripped onto my heart
And all was not right
In my world

X.
But when I saw you,
once again
At the overpriced pizza parlor
in Tokyo, Japan
it was like no time had passed
That day with you
and my family
was one of the best
I ever had
It was the 
perfect goodbye

And after that I knew
that the reason we never cared
is because we knew it would never end
This friendship was not going to fade
just because you moved across the ocean
into a different time zone
fifteen hours away
We're stronger than that
as long as we are friends
all will always be right
in this massive world of ours

XI.
So don't let the heat getcha
and have fun 
staying at home
and NOT going on an adventure
If you don't believe me
I have it in writing, 
that this is what 
a little wise lady
now residing in Tokyo
once wrote me

So lately, I’ve been thinking
Maybe it doesn’t matter
how we met
at all
Who says
every story
needs a "once upon a time"?
Perhaps all that matters
Is the journey
And adventure
roller coaster, even
We’re still on
Together
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