Never, no, never.
          Kee to Vincent

T spends his work money on clothes.
The September senior finds the courage
to ask Lisa to the homecoming dance.
Imagine his time before the phone,
the terrible practice of what to say
when the response is disbelief or Who?
What to say after she says, No.
He would have planned for no.
No had kept him quiet for years, quiet,
polite, this boy other boys consider kind.
T would have been better if she said it,
Sorry, never, no, never.
T misses school two days.
Two days, kids bring us slips of the story,
kids angry, hurt enough to want to punish.
T the day of the dance phoning and no answer,
all day, we see shadows pass a ringing phone,
see him open the betrayal one envelope at a time,
each ring fading a smaller empty white.
We want to give T a month of fast days.
We fail to teach him the answer to no answer.