Bethany Gunther blogs original poem: adolescent x

The following poem was entered for The Christopher Tower Poetry Competition 2018.
The theme for the competition was secrets.
adolescent X
reaching out
in the darkness
I fumble to
interlock my fingers
with yours.
a small smile sneaks onto my face and I
blush in the darkness (invisible).
move in closer and two foreheads meet
(not quite aligned), breath quickening and
tickling my neck;
and I tilt my head and wait,
but nothing happens. and I close my eyes and wait
and wonder but
when our lips connect there are
no sparks.
a soft hard kiss but in vain.
our first kiss. our only kiss,
taking nothing away.
I untangle myself,
we disconnect and take a breath and then (wait)
lean in again
with a hand pressed against a pounding chest we
Kiss.
My heart beats (synchronised); an
orchestra of noise and breathless chords,
my emotions taking-
over and over we kiss.
It lasts forever and a day.
Hidden love letters in your kisses,
written, sealed and signed with an X
by your name.
Tender lips and tender hearts
blinded by adolescent kisses
to the truth in-between the lines of
X’s and O’s, whilst
the bodies around us dissolve in the darkness.
I blush (invisible), but I know you see it too
and it’s just two people (no sparks)
and our first kiss.
Curled up together in the shadows of adolescence,
with a blanket shrouding
Our secret exchange.
By Bethany Gunther, Year 12