Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: ASKEW (06/07/18)
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TITLE: The First Time | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
06/09/18 -
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The first time I saw you climb the old oak in your yard, chattering like a monkey to your little sister on the blanket below you, I grinned. Your shoelaces flipped and flapped and your tennis shoe almost slipped off the branch as you hung on with sheer joy. You never saw me staring from behind the front room curtains but the arches of my eyebrows rose with anxiety.
The first time I saw you throwing the frisbee to your Golden Retriever, as she writhed in the air to snag the white disk, I chuckled. You had one arm out of your sweatshirt and the sleeve flopped up and down as you threw and then rested limply like a dead snake while you waited for your dog’s return. You never saw me covering my mouth to stifle the sound but I hid behind those garden bushes for the whole half an hour.
The first time I saw you scramble out your door to catch the school bus I was sure you wouldn’t make it on time. Your backpack hung heavy off your shoulder and you held it with the hand which grasped your ripping lunch bag. You never saw me while you snagged the escaping apple, bounced up the stairs, helloed the driver, and walked right past me to the back. I was the one behind the upside-down math book.
The first time I saw you get called to the front of the class to do your report on metamorphosis I was sure you looked at me and I wished I had a cocoon to hide in. Your voice squawked a little and someone laughed while I felt like melting butter in empathy with your embarrassment. You may never have really seen me as you looked past me toward the boys at the back, but I was the one quietly cheering you on.
The first time I saw you at church with your family you definitely looked like you were out of place. Your head looked off centered as you craned your neck to examine the stained-glass murals telling the old old story. You may never have seen me watching you stand in silence while we sang, and slump a little while the message went on so long, but I was the one three rows behind you, skipping Sunday School for the first time to be with everyone else.
The first time I saw you at the dance you looked strangely out of place. You watched the square dancing and the line dancing with a strange longing. I watched your right foot tapping as you sat on that bench pretending to care more about your iPad then the girl who kept trying to get your attention. You may never have seen me but I was the one who left the punch on the bench right next to you as I passed by.
The first time I saw you see me I had no words left to say. I held my phone against my ear and didn’t hear a thing my friend Jenny was saying. I watched you take a step in my direction and my legs turned to jelly. You may never have seen me before but I couldn’t doubt you saw me now. I was the one trying not to get hit by the car as you rushed to save me.
The first time I saw you across the table on that first date you had no trouble eating your burger and fries while I couldn’t even take a bite of mine. The ice cream was easier but I almost died when you had to wipe that glob off my nose. You may never have seen me before but now it seemed there was nothing you didn’t see.
The first time I saw you standing at the altar, smiling, head wobbling like a falling top in joy, bouncing on those feet like a Tigger, bow tie crooked, I relished the sight of what God had planned from before time began. I admit, my heart has always been askew.
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this with paragraphs all starting 'The first time'.
Drew me into finding out 'what
next?'. Good work.