I haven’t been in trouble in a long time, but I — like all of us, I’m sure — remember the fear of being totally helpless in the aftermath, when all you can do is sit around and wait. I wanted to write a poem about that feeling of complete agony.
I’m curious to know how old you think “he” is. I originally wrote this thinking this was a boy, waiting for his parents to get home, but maybe it’s someone much older, who’s also aware of the damage after the fact, and awaiting someone much worse than his parents.
Big Trouble
All he can do is sit and wait
and stare–
the damage irreversible,
irreparable.
I swear
it all happened in a moment,
he thinks.
A flash of lightning
shoots down, splitting
the neighbor’s tree:
an omen;
a black streak down the trunk–
it’ll live,
but it’ll wish it hadn’t.
They’ll be home soon,
and when they see
what he’s done,
he’ll wish he hadn’t too.
Submissions
If you’re interested in submitting your own poetry for the Winter ’18 Issue of Come and Go Literary, please see my submission guidelines for more details.
I see a boy here –
They’ll be home soon,
and when they see
what he’s done,
he’ll wish he hadn’t too.
Profound and compelling piece. Well done.
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Thank you! And thank you for the follow!
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I do see the boy in it but really he could be Any age even the opposite end of the spectrum – an aging father whose children will come and deem that he can no longer live independently. Very well written. Cheers!
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Thank you! I love those moments when you write something and you realize after that there’s some real depth to the story/poem.
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Yes! Me too. You’ve done just that here,
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