Bus Ride

The wheels on the bus go round and round,
like the children's song said they would.

The song didn't tell the children that when they became
too old
to ride the bus,
they might watch another person load a car with shopping bags
they can't afford.

How one day at the grocery store they might overhear
a white man talk down to a Hispanic woman
and realize an ugly truth.
That they might start exploring their sexuality
and learn things
others want them to hide.

The song didn't mention
blades of grass,
run over by hundred of feet every day,
each a unique beauty destroyed.
It didn't mention the sun
and the heat
they would feel
when they stepped off the bus.

The song didn't tell them
what life would be like off the bus
or that they are never too old
to ride it.

First Love

It is her first flight and she is excited; she has never flown before. Others told her what to expect, but she was still unprepared for what it would actually feel like.

At takeoff, her heart jumps, lifting with the plane as it leaves the ground. It moves so much faster than she anticipated; surely this is impossible. But it isn’t. Eventually she becomes used to the rhythm of the plane, and it calms her. Like falling asleep under the comforting weight of his arm, flying isn’t as hard as she thought it would be.

Partway through the flight, the plane begins to bounce. She is scared because she cannot do anything to stop it. This time her heart beats differently. Faster. Out of fear rather than exhilaration. Like walking home alone in the dark, she has no other choice.

But the plane doesn’t crash. Eventually the air becomes smooth again, and she appreciates it more for having known the fear. She thinks, I could get used to this.

Finally she can feel the plane begin to descend. Again, there is nothing she can do to stop it. They land abruptly, and her first flight ends the way it began, with a hug at the door and a kiss on the forehead.

Summer

Too close.
Everything is still too close.

It took fifteen minutes for me to realize what hypothetical meant.
We always said the future was a hypothetical. Nothing is ever for certain,
but I wanted this hypothetical to be real.
But hypothetical equals false.

Love is every cliche. I didn’t know it could hurt this much.
We tried, but it didn’t get us where I wanted us to go.
Always running out of time. I didn’t realize it until time was up.
Love is a bitch. We always lose in the end.

This prompt is too close. I shouldn’t have tried so soon.
I wish this could all be further away.