"Fuck This Shit"
An Autobiography For Riot Grrls
#10

good enough

copyright (c) 1996 by Annalee Newitz

usually when the light flattens over hills
it reminds me of looking through shards
of dark beer bottle glass smoothed into clear stones at the beach
when I was too young to get the idea that beer bottles were somebody's litter

and at that moment--when I remember not getting it--
I feel fallen, jealous of the future time I've lost,
the ultimate litter of those early days

I can reassure myself repeatedly
it's better now that you understand everything and can protect yourself
you don't have to rely on some random adult for information

but I still miss it, still get angry that I had to swap a ticket back for these surreal memories
of my moving, unalienated girl legs in the hot sand

because who knows what they really mean? it could have been utopia

but today in my window the houses emerge from the red trees and the green trees
on the slope warped by beer bottle light
and I think I can imagine one small space (right now it's just a few inches by a few inches)
where I might walk through actual crunchy streets
with the legs I have right now

the air continues to be enjoyable and it probably always will be in fall

what I have lost still has a place here
the trick is balancing above it, knowing about the light and the litter
not overcrowding the future with one memory and neglecting another

11-6-96

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