Exposure

The flesh uncovered
in instalments,

she paid out bit by bit
behind the bike sheds,
the school blouse peeled
revealed the marvellous mechanics
of the brassiere.

A whispered click,
as she reached behind her back,
that made us gasp,
the breast seemed fixed
in space, like a planet,

but what I remember most
is the laughing challenge in her eyes,
a look that said
she could always give
much more than we could ever have.

A look that made me turn away
and run for cover,
as if I’d just seen the beginning
of the end of the world.