Home-bound

“Mom, I don’t know why there’s the door-closing announcement. All buses have it now. Really. I’m in the bus. Yes. At Holland Road now. I can take a picture for you to see. I really am in the bus."

He,
Who is
Bespectacled,
Who carries a backpack full of
What else but books,
Who wears a white uniform
Bearing a crest of
Intelligence and wit,
Puts his phone down and
Goes home

To a mother
Whose paranoia and distrust
Leaves his head hung low
And his backpack heavy - not from
What else but books - but from
Invisible locks and chains.

An old poem I wrote in March 2013.