"The Seventh Grade" by José Hernandez Diaz

The Seventh Grade

Was the first time I kissed a girl. Her name was Jasmine.
She was the wildest kid in school. No father.

She would ditch, smoke cigarettes, and hang out
With high school kids. But she was pretty,

So, I let her kiss me. We weren’t even going out,
But I didn’t mind her kissing me after 7th period.

She would stick her whole tongue down my throat.
I didn’t really even know what I was doing,

But I liked it. I can’t lie. Some of the other kids
Asked if she was my girlfriend, but I just said

We were friends. Jasmine ended up hooked on meth
For a while. I never saw her after junior high.

Hope she is happy somewhere. Somewhere safe.

José Hernandez Diaz

José Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Fellow. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020). His work has been published or featured in The American Poetry Review, Boulevard, Crazyhorse, Georgia Review, Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Times, LitHub, The Nation, Poetry, and in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He has been a finalist for The Andrés Montoya Prize, The Colorado Prize, The Akron Prize, and The National Poetry Series. Currently, he is an Associate Editor at Frontier Poetry and a Guest Editor at Palette Poetry. He teaches creative writing online for Litro Magazine, Frontier Poetry, and other venues.

Headshot: Víctor G. Sánchez

Photo Credit: Staff