at any point in time

a little girl

maybe the age of 14 

walking back and forth

maybe 6 or 7 times

to bring stuff in from

the trunk of her car

her pace never changes

walking back and forth,

a still-sleepy morning pace

an I don’t wanna do this pace

an Its too early for this pace

and her exasperated face

shows the same

but what I notice more

is her soft paranoia,

her eyes are scanning the 

parking lot, the condo doors,

the sidewalk behind her

and the windows that have

their blinds opened

it troubles me,

it makes me sad

here we are 

on a Sunday morning

a Mother’s Day morning

its not even 10 am yet

the breeze is barely warm

the sky is still an early blue

and here she is 

walking back and forth

to bring stuff in from the

trunk of her car

and something inside of her

is awake enough to know

that being a little girl 

at any point in time

is never a safe thing

in this fucked up world