Kenny

When I was 12 I had a crush on Kenny
He worked for my uncle's catering company
We served hors d'oeuvres together at my grandparent's 50th anniversary party.

When I was 13 my uncle took my mom and I shopping for carpets and couches in the Bronx
We gave Kenny a ride upstate
because he got drunk and crashed his car into a line of parked cars
I sat behind him staring at his left tricep on the arm rest
as he spoke to my mom

When I was 25 Kenny had gotten out of rehab
and helped me move into my new apartment in Soho
We joked about how filthy my mattress was
as I tried not to think about from where each stain had come

When I was 26 my mom told me that Kenny was in the hospital
because he overdosed on crystal meth
My uncle visited him once before he washed his hands clean
Kenny is on his own now.

When I was 13 I joined track
and watched Kenny Smith run laps around his opponents
the fastest runner, the fastest mile
I had ever seen

When I was 24 I began my first teaching job
and I met a paraprofessional named Kenny B.
who worked with Robert who had crutches
and chased after 6'7 boys named Demetrius who chased after 5 foot boys named Sean Neblett
Kenny B. had to be the one to try to stop it
as Demetrius lifted Sean into the air
and dropped him
Kenny B. would sit in the back writing his screenplay,
as Robert sat at his desk scribbling his notes,
hoping to get the play sold
so his life could be more than
following around kids who haven't figured out what they need to do to pass

When I was 26 Kenny B. hugged me goodbye
as I left my first teaching job behind

When I was 26 I started my second teaching job
and this is where I met Kenny Naughton,
a student who told me he couldn't write a short story
about zombies
but could write anything about vampires

When I was 27 I wondered when I would see my uncle's friend Kenny again