poetry n short stories

Limbo | a poem

The credits roll.

you're so flabbergasted,

awestruck,

shocked that it's over.

The lights come up,

and people start to exit,

and you just sit there:

eyes wide open,

refusing to believe it's the end.

Your parents nag at you--

it's already past your bedtime,

and you shouldn't eat any more skittles or else it'll hurt your tummy,

and your little sister is getting very cranky.

You let them drag you from the theater.

Feet treading without purpose on hideous multicolored carpet,

decorated with a mess of neon shapes and swirls,

and tripping over yourself on the worn-out parking lot asphalt.

Your mom straps you into your car seat.

You look at her and realize

she's not one of the characters you'd just spent the last 90 minutes with.

While your sister sleeps beside you,

and your parents talk about grown-up nonsense,

You gaze out the window ---

Imagining a vast ocean with mermaids leaping out of the waves to say hello

or saving an enslaved kingdom with your magical powers,

or being in a rock band and traveling the world.

Still in limbo between fantasy and reality,

your eyes begin to droop

and you drift to sleep,

knowing that tomorrow morning you'll wake up in your own bed.