Over the Phone
She says I know about
The grown up world,
She never knows what to think.
She says I’m self-assured
Sophisticated.
I said I liked to think of myself
That way.
She got her first period.
She says she doesn’t want to get a bra
That she’s afraid of change
She wants to watch the stars
In the countryside.
I cried as she talked
Tears ran down my cheeks
My nose clogged.
She told me that her mom’s child welfare checks
Aren’t as much anymore.
She says she doesn’t want to grow up,
Go to Never-never-land.
I gazed out onto the late summer yard
The grass
Turned yellow from heat,
And knew I wasn’t helping as I
Tried to keep my voice
Solid.
I haven’t sobbed like that in a long time
Over nothing.