There was a certain kind of desperation on the faces of the family members in the waiting room. I must have counted twenty different faces, gathered close together, rubbing each other’s shoulders or offering up silent prayers. Some paced the small space, others leafed through the magazines on the tables, not really seeing what was on the pages.

Morning comes

​I live in a million worldsAnd have a million friendsEvery day I travel a million milesTo where my journey sends. 

I went wandering in the woodsWhere the tallest trees have grownWhen I came upon an old, abandoned houseWith tall, ivy-covered walls of stone.

I thought there was something that I should remember.

Dawn now comes

We finally took down the wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. We even got lucky, it wasn't a supporting wall. Ryan was really relieved, especially since he doesn't understand why that wall was such a problem for me. 

"Tag! You're it!" Laughter fills the area, bouncing off the brick walls and the swings on the far side of the grass. 

I wish that I could hear again The shouts and squeals of childhood friendsat play, at the party, at fun 

Candle whose light burns brightAmid the darkest veils of nightCast upon me your warming glowSo that your beauty might yet show.

Green. Everything is green. The leaves on the trees, the grass, the bushes, the weeds. They're all green. Even the bench I am sitting on. Why green?

​I remember church as a young man. I would be forced to wear my finest clothes, my mother called them my "Sunday best". They itched and wiggled upward into places they should never be. She would comb my hair the same way that my grandpa always did and make me wash my face three different times. Then right before we left, she would have me blow in her face to make sure I didn't have bad breath.

​It was the hottest day so far. My brand-new pants suit slowly sealed itself to the inside of my thighs. Things just didn't seem to like they could get any worse ... until I missed my bus. I made it to the bus stop just in time to see it making a right turn two blocks down. The next one wouldn't arrive for another fifteen minutes, at least. I leaked frustration as if it were sweat.

Tired, fatigued and hungryA family in needThe Migrant Mother thinkingThe children need to eat