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Hide and Seek
by nathan hitchcock
They told me that's how sin came into the world
And I would become burning indignation
Thinking about Adam and Eve.
Angry that they had to screw it up
And I'd wonder why they did it
And why they hid afterwards,
Buck-naked and ashamed.
After church, sometimes Mom would
Take me to the toy store.
I'd charge in as the double doors opened with a hiss,
Sprinting past the yellow trucks and plastic figurines
To the little rack in the corner.
There, among the hand buzzers and whoopee cushions
And gum that turned your teeth black
Was the pinnacle of revelation, the x-ray glasses.
I would hover there,
Squirming
In
Never-
Ending blissful temptation until it was time to go.
Sometimes that pretty young store clerk with the brown hair
Would come over and bend down and ask if I needed help.
I'd say no and wonder what she would look like
If I had the glasses on.
Several times I tried to get Mom to buy them for me.
She'd just ask,
"Would Jesus buy them?"
And I would snap back that if Jesus could walk on water
Then he could probably see through people too,
So he wouldn't need the glasses.
She'd smirk and tell me to put them back.
I would look longingly at them,
My angelic face beaming in the plastic.
I had that feeling.
Like the feeling I would have years later
Stepping into the public showers
For the first time at the gym.
Just a young teen,
Self-conscious and afraid of the homos.
It was around that age
That I began asking for clothes
For Christmas and my birthday,
Stuffing my toys into the attic,
Cramming my closets full of fabric.
My friends had done the same thing,
As had the rest of the world:
Businessmen, chefs, farmers, housewives,
Musicians, construction workers, scientists, gardeners,
All waking up to the wrath of their alarm clocks
In the genesis of a new day,
Each painstakingly picking out what they'll wear.
Look!
Adam has on his favorite coat!
Eve's wearing her new dress!
And God is wearing glasses.
Go ahead.
Scramble for your leaves.
Night is still coming
And as far as I'm concerned,
You're still naked.