What Were They Thinking, My Parents?

What Were They Thinking, My parents …… ?

What were they thinking, my parents,

when they took me,

a kid of ten,

to the drive-in back in ’55

to see ‘Rebel Without A Cause’?

Weren’t they aware

of its rating?

the furore it caused when released in the States?

the horrific ‘chicken run’ scene ?

You know the one

where two cars, one driven by Dean, the other by his rival,

race towards a cliff over looking the ocean

and whoever jumps out first is the chicken?

Dean jumps out just in time,

the other driver, his jacket sleeve caught in the door handle,

plummets to a fiery death onto the rocks below

his bulging eyeballs

filling the screen.

It was horrific, thrilling and a great moment in cinema.

But should I have been watching it?