Red Rover

March 23, 2008

I didnt want to make my arm
a barrier, to play at being anything
more than small bones, easily broken.

Not for me the cast or the midnight trip to the
operating room, not
the lights flashing on an ambulance.

We got up late in the early morning
hunting in our baskets for oranges or
orange jelly beans -so citrus craved

you would think we had scurvy or some
organic deficiency;
Unless you looked at all the strong white

teeth,
healthy bones, and clear eyes.
I was always the one chosen last,
no one ever thought I was anything but a little
kid, always slower and weaker but

I was always safe. I always knew where Home was
and got there by wit, not speed;
my brain making up for my physical shortcomings.

(Lyres acrostic poem)