The Bottom Shelf Review

Magnets

A far off pole,
I’m pulled to you through the air.
Across a sea and miles,
A part of me stretches from here to there.

You’re in your place,
And I’m in mine,
But we are still sewn together
By this invisible line.

Like a planet in orbit,
I watch you from afar.
You’re the shining sun,
My favorite star.

I’m the North and you’re the South,
a force making our world turn.
Still no matter the days or months between,
The feeling of ‘together’ is one I’ll always yearn.

Ode to My Window

I left the room empty
Now seeming
much smaller
than it had for
many years before.
Our house was not ours.
It belongs to
the school.
It’s at the top of the hill,
Four walls, two doors, two windows
But one window,
I still see through.
One window, will always
be mine.

I know Dads walk.
I can see him
From my post.
He’s walking home from work.
School is over
for the day.
Crowds of teachers
And students,
Racing to leave,
But even far through my window,
I know my Dad.
Blue button down
And khakis.
It’s all the same.
But my window shows
That slight step,
The long strides.
He’s minutes away.

Night is dark,
But not that dark.
Street lights stream through
My one window.
Cars still speed
Down the empty road.
Ambulances or cops wail,
But I watch
from under a blanket.
The gleam provides
a hand puppet screen.
My sister watches from
Her side of our room.
I make rabbits hop
And dogs bark,
But soon we fall
A peaceful sleep.
School is over
for the day.
Crowds of teachers
And students,
Racing to leave,
But even far through my window,
I know my Dad.
Blue button down
And khakis.
It’s all the same.
But my window shows
That slight step,
The long strides.
He’s minutes away.

On windy mornings,
My window displays
how my trees dance.
I watch fall come
And go.
Year after
Year, I advance.
Even the day
I left my window,
She put on a show.
Warm sun burst through