Preteen Anarchist

as a boy I loved to break things
and cause chaos
whenever possible

at school I'd graffiti the bathrooms
and flood the toilets with paper towels
I'd kick dents in metal lockers
and holes in the walls

in our neighborhood
I'd rip slats out of fences
trample flowers
and smash mailboxes

one of my favorite games
was to throw big pine cones
or crabapples at cars
driving down our street

occasionally a car would screech to a halt
and the driver would chase me
screaming murderous intent

but I'd always escape
to the safety of the nearby woods
climb a tree or hide in the bushes
until he gave up

some of the neighborhood kids
could be recruited
into my terrorist organization
the others simply saw me as a lunatic

I couldn't understand those
who didn't want to destroy
at least a small part
of the world the grownups had built

those who found no joy
in upsetting the order
we were forced into
like pint-sized convicts