Roller Derby

I almost didn't post this.  But hey, here it is.  I think we are, all of us, several people.  The idea is to get everyone together, on one team.

I am peopled by bitches

With short Roller Derby names:

Gert

Flo

Pru

Ang

They demand to be called

By their shortened names

So they will be named out loud

More often,

Held and cherished

And part of me.

Gert is my Depression:

The black dog with her red spiked collar.

Flo:

She Who Must be Indulged

She will take some time

To love

But love her I will.

Pru:

The Small One Who Must be Heard

She has been waiting for years

With bows in her hair.

Ang is my Anxiety:

The pit bull:

She goes for the jugular

With even imagined threat

So I may lay even lower.

I am peopled by bitches

With Roller Derby names.

They are part of my team.

There is no “I”

In team.

There is only we,

All of us together

A pack of bitches.

We demand

To be recognized.

Team

Teamwork.  It takes all of us.

I read him poems.

He reads Monty Python quotes.

We are quite the team.

Best parent award

I remember that it*s all about teamwork.  I also remember that everything is not a competition.  I seem to need regular reminders.  I am prone to forget.

Will I be the parent

Who wins

The best parent contest?

The thought crosses my mind

As I drive my daughter to school

Her luggage in the back.

She leaves for France

After school           

On a bus

To the airport.

Parents may follow the bus

To the airport

If they so choose.

Oh yes a friend needs to be picked up

On the way to school.

Standing in the driveway

The friend*s father promises

To drop an umbrella off

At 1:30

Before said friend

Leaves

On the bus.

Did she bring an umbrella?

My beloved asks.

She will need an umbrella.

As I write this a text arrives

For allergy medication.

My beloved unearths

An umbrella

To accompany the antihistamine.

As a team

We may win

The best parent award.

Teamwork

So.  I told my beloved about the dream.  You do remember the Challenger blew up?  he said.   I hadn*t.  I was delighted that we got to learn teamwork before we took off.  I was captivated by the scenery.  I was amazed that we had the road... all to ourselves.  I figured the name said something about what lay before me.  I had forgotten... it blew up.

I slept in.

There was no kitchen

That beckoned

Thanksgiving preparations,

Not even a side dish

To share.

I awakened this morning

From a dream.

I was part of a crew of four

Two women

Two men

On the Challenger.

We were off

To the moon.

Preparing for lift-off,

I closed my eyes. 

When I opened them

We were rolling along

A beautiful road in the country

Golden yellow maples

On either side

The bluest sky

I have ever seen.

It seems we had to learn teamwork

Before we were allowed

To take off.