Young After All by Terrii

I must have been 6 or 7, or 8 or

9 when Kevin Lyttle performed in my car

For maybe the 2nd or 3rd time I

Can’t recall I was young after all but

Still this was and is the most fondest memory I have of my mother

was that

Grammatically correct,

or does it even matter?

I am young after all, but not forever so I must

Remember all I can before it’s gone into forever

or gone into nothing at all

The while Kevin Lyttle was singing in my car

this West Indian man performing the song

that tickled the hearts of little West Indian girls

like me and my mom like how I was, like how I used to be

the dashboard a stage, the rear view mirror perhaps a microphone

or perhaps not

all were tickled by this song, not all

Especially the men

Especially the men

If they liked it, it was all wrong

But sometimes right but does that even matter?

I was young after all

these issues of gender and politics swarm my head now,

the me now, not the me then because then me was in my car

as Kevin Lyttle performed for my mom and me and we sang along

to the chorus joining the vocal line, getting up on stage right there next to Kevin Lyttle

We were his backup singers

We were driving home or driving from home

I can’t recall I was young after all

Now my mom and I don’t perform anymore.

Our duo broken apart by gender and politics and religion and....it doesn’t matter.

Kevin Lyttle only sings for me now, my headphones a tiny stage with which he has to squeeze himself onto and perform for an audience of one

Not two

Because two would mean me and my mom we would have to sing but that would mean that the me now, and the her now would have to sing as if we were the me and her then, but the me and her now won’t ever be like we were then

I should have known to cherish the moment

But I was young after all.

Terrii is a 25-year-old Black enby artist whose passions include drawing, music, writing, and dance. For more of Terrii's content, follow him on Instagram (@teriyagii).

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