Poetry and Short Stories from a Teenage Girl

Counting (a poem)

One: The sun,

shining high in

the sky, alone.

Two: Your shoes.

Above the ground,

under your feet.

Three: A clover.

Green, with leaves.

Luck, it means.

Four: A family.

You, me, two

kids. Happily free.

Five: Traffic jams.

Road games and

discovering true patience.

Six: The hour

to end quiet

nights in autumn.

Seven: The year

you were diagnosed.

T'was all unclear.

Eight: You left.

Went to a

better place, alone.

Nine: The kids'

curfew. They run

around, over you.

Ten: The years

I spent mourning

you. Without you.

Eleven: A quiet

evening. Kids are

gone. I'm alone.

Twelve: My final

hour. Time to

see you, again.