Thursday, December 18, 2014

poem of the day 12.18.14


poem to cindy x garcia
age, approximately 5 ½

cindy
what is there to say?

except that we’re both pretty tired
coming home on this evening train

only i don’t have my mother with me
to try and keep waking me up, like you do

she’s only doing it
because if you sleep now
you’ll be a terror when she tries to put you to bed

it’s kind of like how i feel
those nights struggling to keep my eyes open
until at least ten o’clock

frustrated at all of these inabilities and limits
i seem to be acquiring year by year

cindy
it’s hard at your age and it’s getting harder at mine

and i know how you feel
two parents working full-time
or maybe even just one

up and out the door before most kids are even awake
back home to the insult of everyone else’s warm yellow window

because you’ve spent mornings and afternoons
shucked off to daycare or lousy babysitters
that your folks can’t really afford

you know they’re working hard
but it’s tough only seeing them when the sun comes down
when you’re tired and on this train tonight
where thankfully no one is making any noise

remember they don’t want to pay someone else
to raise you either

cindy
i wish that i could say that it gets better
that the tiredness abates

but if i have to be honest with you
life comes down to small pockets of joy
tucked between the sadness and strife

and before you know it
you’ll be putting your mom to bed
or saying goodbye for the long run

so don’t give her too much shit right now
because she seems like a nice lady
with soft, brown loving eyes

cindy
i can see the tears welling up
as she keeps sitting you up straight

there’s no need to cry
because this is just what we do
trying to live this life we’ve been given

we endure
we make magic happen when we can

and there’s still a few more good hours
left in the day for us both

dinner, television, or maybe a decent book

so let’s not squander this, little girl
on tears and petty disagreements

let’s do as mom says
and get up

let’s get off this train tonight
and get back to the art of living

until tomorrow, cindy
until tomorrow.

                                    

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