cooties

he had cooties
i knew it from the first time i saw him
they emanated from him like a cloud
like a stinky fart
i could see them around him
and knew
that he was something more than
a naturally occurring thing

there was nothing i could do about him
he was just there
and would never leave
the miasma of cooties
drew me like how drivers slow to look at an accident

he said is that your real hair
so i kicked his shins twice like a ninja
and made him say the s word

he limped for the swings
calling me a turd

my eyes were narrowed
i knew it was war between us

watching him push himself on the swings
i saw the cooties toss back and forth
on the wind

and suspected i would look for them
tomorrow