UFOs

 

When I was a child in the sixties...

We talked about martians in class...

I often wondered if it was possible at all... 

That we already lived together, en masse...

I figured some of my fellow students... 

Especially the new kids at school...

Could easily have come from another planet...

Especially this one kid, who was pretty cool...

This one kid’s parents acted differently... 

Wore groovy clothes, like Sonny and Cher... 

My family was dull and conservative...

We wore boring clothes, with perfect hair...

They were a different kind of family...

His dad wore white Nehru jacketed suits...

The mom wore hot pink miniskirts...

And white high heeled go-go boots...

His sister’s clothes were bright purple...

Her eye shadow and nail polish were, as well...

But the most interested thing about his sister...

Was that her name was something like Seashell...

His parents drove a 1960 Ford Spaceliner... 

They went to the Christian Science church... 

His parents smoked short skinny cigarettes... 

They both worked in science research...

One day I finagled an invitation...

For a hangout at his home after school...

I brought along my Polaroid camera...

And my bathing suit to swim in their pool...

Their pool was something really special...

It had a retractable plexiglass top...

The underwater lights are bright turquoise... 

His sister liked to intentionally bellyflop...

His mom invited me to stay for dinner... 

She suggested I get permission from home... 

I called my mom, who said “Yes, of course.” 

So around their house I decided to roam...

Their bed mattresses were made to hold water...

I jumped on one to experience the feel...

It was very strange and my stomach felt queasy... 

Sleeping over might become a stressful deal...

I joined the family when dinner was ready... 

A pair of robots served us our dinner...

We dined on tofu steaks with a side of kale...

I felt like I was about to get thinner...

For dessert, I was offered carrot sticks... 

With a banana sauce in which I would dip... 

The only thing there to wash it all down... 

Was a strange tea which I was afraid to sip...

I’m not sure if this family were martians...

But I’m positive they were definitely weird...

I started to think my family was quite normal...

Not seeing them again was something I feared...

I was afraid to fall asleep all night...

I kept my eyes opened, much to my chagrin...

What if the martians whisked me away in my sleep... 

Would I never see my family again...

And then, as the clock chimed midnight...

It became so dark, I could barely see... 

The family asked me if I was ready to go... 

I screamed “Hell no, you’re not taking me!”

They all waved as they boarded their ship...

Like a meteor, they quickly flew away...

I stood there all alone, wondering whether or not... 

I would get to stay on Earth for yet another day...

Then all of a sudden, my alarm clock rang...

I jumped up quickly and got out of my bed...

I threw on my clothes and ran down the stairs...

Did I dream the entire story all in my head...

I tell you it seemed so darn real...

Like I was there just as plain as day...

The kid and his family were never seen again...

I’m pretty sure the martians flew away...

© 2022 Jeffrey Pipes Guice

My Wonder Years: A Book