21

~A poem for Elijah Wood on his birthday~ 21 You always were an adult, but now the numbers make it official. I watched you grow and change, Across a mile of film, From pushing Macaulay Culkin off a pier, To swimming with dolphins. From fighting extraterrestrials, To playing the smallest hero. You avoided the limelight, And Tiger Beat magazine like the plague. You lived in anonymity for your childhood, To save the rewards for adulthood, And a maturity, Which seemed to ooze from your performances anyway. 21 You can buy yourself a drink, And pretend you’ve never tasted beer before. You can get so wasted that you think, You may not dance in the light of another day, But your friends will urge you to drink more, Because you’re 21. 21 As you sit there, Puffing away at your Indonesian cloves, Making me wonder, Exactly how many more birthdays you’ll see, If you keep the habit, Or how many it will take, Until your beautiful face is ruined. 21 You’ve been across the world and nowhere at all. You drive your Ferrari with no one riding shot gun, And listen to the Smashing Pumpkins alone in your room, Watching the seconds tick by. “Today is the greatest, day I’ve ever known…” How deep into a human heart have you been? You’ve kissed Christina Ricci, Jordana Brewster, and Leelee Sobieski, But have you kissed anyone? 21 and never been kissed? You’ve been in a thousand relationships, But have you felt anything? How much did you pay that tutor, To teach you about Rockefeller and Aristotle, When you could have learned more about life, From a classroom with 4 walls, An underpaid, frustrated teacher, And a thousand kids with a thousand ideas and a thousand personalities. But you’re still young. After all, You’re only 21. Written January 28th, 2002 © on Jan 28 2002 02:05 PM PST   0 • 1