From A Tired Brain

Traffic jam of thought
So much to say yet nothing
Words at a stand-still

And that’s all I’ve got. Except for this:

I’ve got good people
Strong, resilient, determined
Diverse, beautiful

I Stepped On A Slug

I want to make an impact
Today I did not succeed
Furrowed brow forehead

Monday I could laugh.
Tuesday and Wednesday, I tried.
Thursday was too much.

I stepped on a slug.
It was slimy and squishy.
It went splat. Eww. Gross.

Crammed full to-do list
Never ahead but behind
Homework out my ears

-----

Excuse me, but I was wondering if
You could teach me about love.
I'm really confused.

I hear people say that they love
food and games and toys and cars
Yet I see people hurting each other on the news
And my mom and dad never say, "I love you."

My dad is never home;
He stays at work a lot.
I guess that work makes him happy,
And he really likes the woman who has the office beside him.
And my mom always says she doesn't feel good;
She has headaches almost every day.
I wish her head would feel better
And that I didn't have to clean up paper bags and bottles.
I wish she’d be happy to see me at the bus stop
And hug me like my friends’ moms do.

I think that they are supposed to love each other
And love me,
Right?
But they hardly speak and they just get mad when I struggle to read at school
And they send me to my room to play on my computer or watch TV or play video games.

Is it okay for me to love my computer, TV, and video games?

I think I'll save my lunch money and buy my dad a new car.
I heard him tell the neighbor that he loves his new SUV.
Then maybe he’ll come home early one night and we can all go to McDonald's together and get a happy meal.

Is it okay for me to love Happy Meals?

They do make me happy.