Nobody's Going to the Dance

Nobody’s going to the dance

Because the seniors have decided

That they have aged past

School-sponsored dances

And all school-sponsored events

Including graduation

Which is why attendance

For graduation

Is expected to plummet

To an all-time low

The seniors spend time

Going up and down

Pollen Road

In used cars

And new cars

And whatever cars

Their parents will let them use

They look for an activity

That might offer the same amount

Of socialization

As a school dance might

But is decidedly NOT a school dance

They can’t get into bars or clubs

Because the new machines

That detect fake ID’s

Have are more advanced than ever

And the bars that used to look the other way

Were all raided because there’s a new commissioner

And now the only good time to be had

On Pollen Road

Is inside a car

Playing music

And laughing about something your friend said

That won’t be nearly as funny

Twenty minutes from now

One of the seniors

Wants to go to a party they heard about

But they can’t remember

Whose party it is

Or where it is

Or if they can just show up

But they drive around

Looking for something

That might be a party

But isn’t a school dance

Because the seniors

Aren’t going to the dance

The juniors are also

Abstaining

Unlike the seniors

They have no interest

In riding down

Pollen Road

They’re not copycats

And they don’t even admire

The seniors all that much

But nevertheless

They’ll be seniors next year

So they might as well practice

Not going to dances

Their Friday night is spent

Texting each other back and forth

From their respective bedrooms

In years past

They would all go over

Someone’s house

But now the houses seem so far apart

When you consider the drop in temperature

And the lack of transportation

Since the seniors have all the cars

And who would let a junior

Borrow a car anyway?

The juniors sit under bedroom lights

On hardwood floors

Poking around on laptops

Looking at things they shouldn’t

And asking dumb questions

To other juniors

Who are only two blocks away

The sophomores adore the seniors

And so anything that doesn’t have seniors at it

Is nothing they want to be associated with

Every senior guy

Has a sophomore girlfriend

And so the girls wait at home

For their senior boyfriend

To pick them up

Not realizing that senior boys

Are more interested

In the backseat

Of their friend’s dad’s car

Not speaking up

When the time comes

To pick up girlfriends

As agreed upon earlier in the evening

Because the possibility of finding

Better, older girls

Is now in the air

And there’s no denying it

So the girls wait at home

Looking at text messages

That go unanswered

And the sophomore boys

Play Dungeons and Dragons

And videogames

And board games

With their friends who live next door

Because, unlike the juniors,

The distance doesn’t seem so far yet

The freshmen are too nervous

To go to the dance

Because this batch of freshmen

Is more hesitant

Than the freshmen that used to

Burst onto the scene

Ready to experience

Whatever was worth experiencing

They sit on their beds

And wonder

What they should be doing

Wonder

What everyone else is doing

Wonder if it’s good to do

What everyone else is doing

If what everyone else is doing

Is something school-related

And social

Which could be thought of

As healthy

Or if there’s something worthwhile

About sitting on your bed

On a Friday night

And not minding it

Next to their bed

Their phone lights up

And they wonder if they should

Look at the screen

Or wait

Before

They answer