must tend to the balance

it's like an old school
children's story

and I don't know whether he's
the main character or just
one of them

but I see him going
to middle school
in ragged clothes, carrying an
ancient backpack on his
frail shoulders

As if especially to look more
like a fragment ripped
from a folk tale
he carries
bread crumbs in his pockets
and takes a fistful
and tosses it to the pigeons
as he passes by the park

pauses

stares at the birds
for a minute or two

and the birds stare back

and he resumes his
unhurried pace,
this time with the faintest of
smiles on his face

"His mother died four years
ago," the muse tells me. "Another drunk
driving incident
not different from the
rest.
She just came home from
work and crossed the
street when one of
God's drunkest drivers hit
her and didn't even stop to
check.
Now the boy spends his
days in
grief. He'll never know that
the same driver who
murdered his mother is
the man who participated in
giving him life
and raised him. It's... a weird
story."

"Damn," I say. "Must you always be
so needlessly dark?"

"I forgot to add that
he's getting bullied every day
in school and
thinks of leaving this world
entirely
even more than his
father does. Unlike the old
man, he hadn't yet
discovered alcohol
so that kinda explains a lot."

"Eh, I don't know," I say. "I'm not
in the mood
for another tragedy.
Don't we have enough depressing
stories?"

"There's never enough
depressing stories, silly."

"I know, but... I mean, I'm not saying
to quit them altogether.
Just take a break and, you know,
write something else for
a change."

"Disgusting," she says. "I don't appreciate
the taste of other stories.
You wanna write about
sunshine and rainbows like
all the others?"

"I must tend to the
balance."

"The what?"

"You know what I mean...
I can't let the
madness weigh too much. Gotta
add a bit of mass
to the other side as well."

"Pff, look, if you're gonna be
soft with me, I'm leaving."

She left

For now

And I stopped by the park
benches
and sat on one
and the pigeons
surrounded me with eyes
full of want

and I had no breadcrumbs
or anything to
give them

so I just watched them

and perhaps my eyes
featured even more
want than theirs

because eventually
they turned
around and left

It's good to be completely
alone for
once in the while

Many thanks to Gobblers by Masticadores for featuring my poem, "must tend to the balance"! 

Check it out HERE!

Thank you!