The Time I Ran Away
The lesson in a new perspective
I ran away, once,
My resolve hardened
By the tears soaking
My most favourite shirt
As I stuffed some socks
Into the narrow
Spaces between my
Books and my James Bond
Aston Martin car
With ejector seat.
I buckled my bag,
Surprised at the weight
But I could never leave
Them behind. My life,
Gladly, but not books.
The nanny shouldn’t
Have spanked me because
I used my bedsheets
To make a secret
Hide-out behind the
Garden so I could
Read undisturbed by
My brothers playing
War, their make believe
Weapons useless when
‘I shot you first’ soon
Turned into a brawl
That ended in tears
And I got beaten
Because I’m oldest.
No more. They’re not my
Kids, I never chose
To bring them into
The world and then hand
Them over to Nan
Or into my care
When I could hardly
Keep up with myself.
How was it that I
Alone saw it as
Unfair that I must
Be responsible
But held to account
When they ignored me
And made me hit them.
Let them find someone
Else to supervise
While life slipped away,
Hours forever lost
And not spent reading
Or imagining
When my own books would
Earn their span of shelf
So I might share my
Imagination
With the whole wide world.
My brothers were a
Distraction that could
Deny me my goals
And joy in my life.
At the first drops of
Rain, I slid my bag
Under my best shirt
Because I never
Thought to bring a coat
Which would also have
Helped with the cooling
Dusk and an assault of
Mosquitoes just as
Ravenous as I.
Wet in the dark, it
Occurred to me that
I could still get home
Before anyone
Found out I was gone.
‘Where did you go,’ my
Brothers asked as they
Spooned macaroni
Between gulps of milk,
‘We hoped you might tell
Us your newest tale.’
‘Why should I share one?
You never obey,
Do mischief so I’m
Punished by father.’
But then we forged a
Truce that night about
How one meaning of
Listening was earned
By another one.
More great poetry at Dancing Elephants Press:
✍ — Published by Dr. Gabriella Korosi, at Dancing Elephants Press. Click here for submission guidelines.
