No roommate, no cry
How peaceful it is,
lying in bed with only the sound
of morning, a few birds, wind
ruffling branches, perhaps a car
rolling by on its way somewhere.
I have no roommate, been alone
for a few years now, actually
I sleep much better, wake up
on my own, no one else there,
no snoring or wrestling for covers.
It’s ok. Don’t feel sorry for me.
I was married, perhaps you were too,
more than once for me, and a few
roommates or partners along the way
until I decided to stay by myself.
There may be times when I feel it,
a bit lonely, but I can choose friends,
family to be with, instead of a constant
presence; now the house is quiet
unless I want it to make noise.
My Bangs were always too Short
My bangs were seldom straight Carol’s
hand shook badly she’d made several
passes, I told her to stop too short
kids laughed at the weird fashions
forced on me mother was popular not me
white blouses with peter pan collars
decades out of style bobby socks no nylons
until after you start high school too late
A curtain fell
over the schoolyard that day
the last time recess would result
in play and not practice to hide
to stay inside out of the way
of stray bullets spewed out of guns,
sprayed through ankle-socked kids
more ready to learn than to lose
lives barely begun in a schoolyard
supposed to be safe, but where even
inside is anyplace that gunfire
cannot reach both students and teachers
cringe at backfired mufflers, books
hitting floors with a bang, all startle
bring more fear than a child needs
to feel or hear, echoes and screams
of friends, classmates no longer here
Why
Can no one spell correctly?
As far as I can tell, there is still school
or is the rule now that they not need
to form words or to know how to spell?
Why does no one listen?
They begin to speak over me, as I ask
questions, they are lax in their reply
or jump into reasons why they don’t know.
I do not understand today.
I learned to spell as a matter of course, we
had weekly quizzes, from teachers that we
meekly answered, just to learn.
It seems to me that language has lapsed
from proper speech to memes and clever
acronyms for sentences like lol and tdb,
to me, it’s too bad they learn this way.
Perhaps if they still taught to read, to spell
it would quell the need for auto-correct;
go back to dictionary look-ups instead of
hook-ups where each stares at a phone,
games and Facebook are the norm today,
back in my day, we played board games,
talked and laughed; now, I think they balk
at books and go back to their memes.
Where are you now
my first love, back then when I was
fraught with teen anxiety
butterfly flutters deep in my belly
waiting for the phone to ring?
Where are you now
father of my children, who told me
one day that you never loved me,
that you liked my shiny soft hair
and the sound of my voice?
Where are you now
the one I tried to save from himself,
who couldn’t hold a job for long,
who shared my bed and house until
I realized I could only save myself?
Where are you now
my last love, the one I would have
spent my life with, but told me I
was too old, that you wanted younger,
more attractive women to date?
Where are you now
any of you, as I wake alone, spend days
doing things I choose, but always just me,
seeing around me couples walking, loving,
holding hands. I stare at my empty palms.
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