camp protocol 115
PLEASE DO: make lasting
friendships /// share secrets of
category 2 or lower /// make up your
own handshakes /// talk about the
towns you are from /// say pet's
names lovingly /// play non sexually
charged games of would you rather
/// show affection through side hugs
/// write nice notes to one another
focused on how someone has
changed you for the better /// please
do share your desserts if sweet things
are not for you /// please do say this
dessert is sweet and so are you in a
friendly flirty jest /// pick flowers for
one another to be left anonymously
/// ask if things were different could
we be together /// please answer that
question truthfully /// say you are
very special to me /// say you are
very very special to me /// answer
how special with any metaphor of
class 3 or lower /// look up at the
clouds moving in and say that looks
like rain /// please say I sometimes
like rainy days /// say actually I find
them cozy ///
PLEASE DO NOT: notice the ways
one another's bodies are changing in
a mixed gender setting /// do not play
a game called nervous ////// whose
point is to start at the other player’s
ankle /// and then to move your hand
slowly up towards their sex /// an
inch at a time /// asking are you
nervous now /// are you nervous now
/// are you getting nervous now ///
what about now /// are you nervous
now /// do not read any poems aloud
after the sun has gone down /// don't
ever throw rocks at windows to
awaken your only true love /// make
no outward vocal signs of devotion
/// no promises that you would rather
die than not be together /// don't
write your true love’s name on a
ribbon then tie it around the ankle of
any song bird another camper is
nursing back to health /// do not ask
what would you do if I kissed you
right now /// do not ask which do you
think are bigger my hands or your
butt /// my hands or your breasts ///
my hands or your hips /// do not
skinny dip /// do not swim in
underwear instead of a bathing suit
/// or walk out from the woods
spinning your underwear around
your finger while fully dressed
implying that there is only one layer
between anyone else and your
nakedness /// do not blow kisses ///
pantomime female on male oral sex
in a mixed gender setting ///
pantomime male on female oral sex
in a mixed gender setting ///
pantomime male on male oral sex in
a mixed gender setting /// pantomime
female on female oral sex in a mixed
gender setting /// do not hug or dance
touching your whole length front to
front /// do not hug or dance touching
your whole length (male) front to
(female) back /// do not call one
another virgins as though saving
yourself for the person you truly love
is shameful and not a healthy choice
to make at such a young age /// when
you are concerned and confused
about your perfectly normal
changing bodies which should be
kept hidden and secret at all times ///
Mikey Swanberg holds an MFA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and is the author of the chapbook Zen and the art of Bicycle Delivery (Rabbit Catastrophe Press). He is a recipient of the Jane Vance prize for poetry, and lives in Chicago.