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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