"The Kids Are So Back" by Morgan Tessier

barking up the right trees
stuck on the double branch

don’t climb if you can’t get down
if you can’t get down

better learn to
jump

the kids are so back
vlog squad with baby teeth
sucking back cinnamon
getting pantsed by their dads
tamogotchi death hits all seven stages
and everyone knows
that the moon is made of cheese
that green eggs go great
on a ham sandwich
that cyber bullying
is cooler when everyone is doing it

slip-&-slide into stardust
along greenwood grass
burning the summer
at both ends
there’s glass in the pool
marco polo cut short
feet cut deep
red & blue sunburns
on chlorine skin
remember when sunscreen
used to work
the first time

fallen hotdog
soldier slipped
between truck slats
hunger driven dance-moves
filled with
cruel intentions
no amount of ketchup
can cure a broken heart
but a viral video
is a bandaid solution
for missing lunch

category is horse
category is narwhal
category is charades
is easy when every answer
is the right answer
guess flamingo
guess spider
guess where your hamster went
I promise you’ll be happy
with the results

The kids are so back
but seriously
don’t climb a tree
if you don’t know how
to get down
or if your mom can’t
find the ladder

but by some act of god
if you find yourself up there

just close your eyes
try and remember

how to
jump

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Morgan Tessier called us from Toronto, Ontario.

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