Category : Poems

Sub Category : N/A

I reached into my pocket for the key
Groceries in one arm
And felt nothing
Wrong pocket
I did the shuffling transfer
Walmart plastic bags rustling
I reached down with my other hand
That pocket too, was empty
There was that moment
Looking up into my mom's eyes
Where I felt so very young
So lost
We were locked out.

I could see it in her eyes
Something passed through them
She never exposed it
Like a shadow it flickered
But she locked it in
Whatever it was never made it free
"Call our Landlord", she said calmly.
I did.

We jad just moved into our new home
A week ago
A shared journey together, she and I
This fresh start
For her, in a new place
For me, in a new world
She set the ice cream on the windowsill
In the shade

It happened
The Landlord didnt have an extra key
There was care in her voice
The kind that wishes it could help
Could somehow assist
"You need to call a locksmith", she said gently.
I did.

I opened the door to the car
So mama could sit comfortably
Apologies hung like a cloud around me
Dark grey and heavy
My regret wanted to fall all around me
But I remembered her eyes
Not a drop hit the ground

The irony of it depressed me
So many years locked in a cage
A journey of decades to get to this place
Only to find myself now
Groceries in piles on the stoop
Locked Out