She
by Camryn Barganier
Ice cream is for grown ups
And love is for lesbians.
She was ice cream
Warmed by the forgotten time of deep kisses
The flavor of the week
And I wanted to spoon her.
Mrs. Cherry Garcia.
She was tasteful?
And carefree
Dripping down my waffle cones
I wanted to catch her with my tongue.
And become Mrs. And Mrs. Cherry Garcia
She was the reason I turned my cup over after the last drop,
Just hoping she would give me more.
See she, was the cause of my melting core
The hello, goodbye and waiting kiss at the door
And she swore,
My eyes twinkled.
She said, when I laughed,
My nose crinkled
She noticed the little things, big things, and gave attention to all things.
She melted through my fingertips
And my hands stuttered and babbled
Aimlessly the first time around.
I had secrets climbing on my earlobes
But my lips only shared them with her.
And goose bumps upon my collar bone
Like children
Balancing on a log
But I was no child.
She invaded
And I surrendered
And we played the lovers game
For months behind closed doors
And lived on lying lips
That told love stories over ice cream sundaes
We were Juliet and Juliet
Forbidden and in love.
We were beautiful
She made me snap, crackle and pop
First and last
Every time
And then,
She would chuckle
As I morphed back into childhood
Curled into myself
Like two lips with a secret moon behind them.
She caressed my hair.
And right then I should have said,
I don’t care what they say.
I should have told her then
Because I had her
Melting in my fingertips
I was there,
I was in love.
But I didn’t
And she got tired of waiting
On my fear to flee
But my female intuition said
You have something to lose.
And so, she was lost.
My Ice cream melted away.
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Camryn Barganier was raised in Houston, Texas by her parents Doris Forte and Art Barganier. At a young age, she discovered her passion in many art forms, especially performing arts and writing. By the age of fourteen, she began performing spoken word poetry and studying her true passion. After graduating from the University of Houston with a bachelor?s degree in broadcast journalism, she continued her writing career in television and radio. Since 2006, she has been an administrator for Be A Champion, Inc., a non-profit organization providing after school enrichment and tutorial programs in the Houston area.
As a bilingual English and Spanish performer, writer and presenter, Barganier works with children in her daily life, reinforcing positive self-expression through art and creative writing. She continues to spread the importance of knowledge about the effects of domestic violence through her Stop Shops, the practicum concept behind her book, Squeaky Speaks. Since the age of 12, she has been performing spoken word poetry nationwide, and in 2009 she qualified for the National Poetry Slam Competition.
These seminars focus on the elements of play therapy, the natural and familiar form of positive self-expression for children. Her passion for stopping the cycle of domestic violence drives her career, aspirations and art. Barganier lives in Houston, Texas with her dog, Winston, the inspiration for the pet in her book.
