3 A.M. And Its Only The Great Wall Of China That Still Needs To Be Climbed Poem by Debora Short

Awake, catching up on never-ending homely
Tasks, struggling with those late arriving Stafford forms

Short-falling school budgets and that long list of chores
Towels still in dryer that need to be folded

Dinner dishes that must be washed and put up
A fussy old chocolate lab who whines at the back

Door, those steep old wooden steps slick with black ice
A child who inherited wander-lust who dreams

Of exploring Easter Island, Galapagos
The greens of Ireland, his heritage from Scotland

The charm of the dream I suppose, overrides his mom’s
Ruling, no travel to terrorist-plagued na-

Tions, wondering if, perhaps one of those great old
Chilean Fathers might consent to be emergen-

-cy contact, then there is that question asked of
Me, “Do you have any pre-existing commitments that

May interfere with your chosen course of study? ” A
Smile appears on my mid-century well lined mom- face

Only the Great Wall of China that still needs to
Be climbed, and that book I purchased today

(One Size Fits All, Tennessee
December 28,2006)