O TOO MUCH 1963

A GIRL DREAMS WHILE IN SCHOOL IN IRELAND IN 1963

Magdalene
doesn't want
any boy

to touch her
or kiss her.
She wants to

kiss Mary,
hold her hand,
lie with her

on the bed,
feel along
her soft thigh.

She dreams this
as she sits
at the desk

during maths,
Sister Ruth,
the young nun,

talks about
algebra.
Mary sits

beside her
at the desk;
smells her scent

(borrowed ma's),
feels her near,
elbows touch.

Magdalene
slowly sighs
deep within

o too much.