We are the ones

A poem in response to a prompt from writing class last night. The prompt was based on a quote from Jean Shinoda Bolen, which I will have to look up and post later. But here is the poem.

We are the ones
Who hold the center
When everything falls apart
Around our ears.

We are the ones
Who make the difficult phone calls
And have the confrontations
When no one else wants to do it.

We are the ones
Who mow the lawn
When the grass grows above our ankles
To keep the homeowner's association police away.

We are the ones
Who scramble eggs
And make grilled cheese
And microwave broccoli
To get a healthy meal on the table.

We are the ones
Who sacrifice our own classes
And lessons
So that our children might learn
In our places.

We are the ones who
Answer the 4 a.m. calls
Provide another kiss
And another sip of water.

We are the ones who
Clean up the pee
When they don't make it in time
And the vomit
When our Halloween candy admonitions go unheeded.

We are the ones who
Gas up the car
And schedule its maintenance
For the two hour window during preschool.

We are the ones who
Plan playdates
And grate carrots
And play outside
So that our kids will know something
Beyond TV and computer screens.

We are the ones who
Pretend to act surprised
When we are "surprised"
With an impromptu birthday party
In October
Even though we were born in May.

We are the ones who
Labor
More than once
To bring children into this world
And hold their hands
As they birth their own.

We are the ones who
Read for knowledge
Pleasure
And understanding.

We are the ones who
Keep the pulse on the relationships
And sense
Where things are headed.

We are the ones who
Clip coupons
And make sure
There's enough milk in the house.

We are the ones who
Censor radio and TV broadcasts
For young ears
And spell out
N-a-p-s and c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e
So as to remain undetected.

We are the ones who
Make the doctor appointments
And keep immunization records
In our underwear drawers.

We are the ones who
Give extra kisses
When a friend says
'I don't want to play with you,'
And then let them win
At Candyland.

We are the ones who
Make and keep the rules
But bend them once in a while.

We are the ones who
Keep our family's histories alive.

awj
2 oct 06