Cake – Sunshine Lane

Twenty years ago today,
the Oklahoma bombing
occurred and a tornado
was headed towards
my sons’ school
that same afternoon.

I was at work and
could do nothing
about either situation.

I was a basket case,
heartbroken,
terrified, and worn out.

My fiance’ picked
me up from work.

My boys were safe
and happy,
eyes shining.

At home,
on the kitchen table,
was a bright yellow
sunshine cake
that my boyfriend
had made to
cheer me up.

St. Francis said,
“A single sunbeam
is strong enough
to drive away
many shadows.”

That cake was a
single sunbeam
for me that day.

The hug my boyfriend
gave me then also
was so sweet that
I could feel the
sadness leave
my body.

The day was still
tragic, but when we
share bad days
with ones we love,
when the sun
comes up the next morning,
we’re better able to
get up with it.

I’ve been a little behind on poem writing the past couple of days, but I’ll be caught up by tomorrow evening I think. The prompt for day 17 was to write a “social media”-style poem. Namecheck all of your friends. Quote from their texts, tweets, FB status updates, twitter accounts, and blogposts, and the back of the cereal box on your breakfast table. The poem is about you and you are about what you say, think, talk, eat. You might end up with a poem that seems bizarrely solipsistic (like the internet itself, maybe?), but there might also be a spark there of something live and fun and present (like the verbal equivalent of a really great animated cat .gif).

I must admit I did look at FB posts from today and between some of those posts, my own memories, and the great quote from St. Francis, this poem was born. I didn’t follow the prompt quite, but, I like what this poem says. I hope you do too.