Awake, catching up on never-ending homely
Tasks, struggling with those late arriving Stafford forms
Short-falling school budgets and that long list of chores
Towels still in dryer that need to be folded
Dinner dishes that must be washed and put up
A fussy old chocolate lab who whines at the back
Door, those steep old wooden steps slick with black ice
A child who inherited wander-lust who dreams
Of exploring Easter Island, Galapagos
The greens of Ireland, his heritage from Scotland
The charm of the dream I suppose, overrides his mom’s
Ruling, no travel to terrorist-plagued na-
Tions, wondering if, perhaps one of those great old
Chilean Fathers might consent to be emergen-
-cy contact, then there is that question asked of
Me, “Do you have any pre-existing commitments that
May interfere with your chosen course of study? ” A
Smile appears on my mid-century well lined mom- face
Only the Great Wall of China that still needs to
Be climbed, and that book I purchased today
(One Size Fits All, Tennessee
December 28,2006)
Debora Short
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/3-a-m-and-its-only-the-great-wall-of-china-that-still-needs-to-be-climbed/
