Oliver Pursley Poet Free verse

YOUR DAD’S WATCHING TV BECAUSE THE TEXAS GAME IS ON

And your stepmom is in the kitchen with the smell of cooking onions
Upstairs your sister is in her room writing college essays and listening to her playlist on full blast
And your little brother is doing his very first homework assignment
And smiling about how much he loves kindergarten
And the fact that he is a big boy now
The cat is on the porch
The dog is in his bed
The stars are all right where they are supposed to be
 You may not be talking to anyone  
you may be alone in your room 
But you are all there
You are all home.

Recently you’ve noticed the look of fear on your sister’s face at any mention of college
 have gotten used to your father's grey hair and new glasses        
You notice that your brother is too big to carry
 he doesn’t always cry when he falls down
 your stepmom's face is lined with the years
And her lips are thin 
you see your dog walk funny 
And you have to call louder for him to hear you
Your cat doesn’t catch birds or mice anymore
She lays in the sun, lazy on the porch
And the neighborhood kids come over to pet her, scratch behind her ears.
but you notice, they aren’t exactly kids anymore

It finally hits you that in less than a year
You won’t all be living together anymore
Your sister will be all the way across the world
In a big school in Italy
She won’t just be across the hall in the other room
And you won’t have dinner together anymore
Or make pancakes on Sunday mornings
And your dog won’t know where she has gone
And your cat will know but won’t understand
Your parents’ bones start to creak
Your brother is getting older and doesn’t hug you as often
And your life is stagnant
But moving too fast all at the same time
You’re dizzy
Your tears won’t come
It all feels so surreal.
Your sister has half a year
You have two more after her
And your bother has 9 more when you leave.

Your childhood will be ripped apart but it will also be scattered like ashes across the world
And you will find pieces of it wherever you go.

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