I wrote this poem a number of years back after reading an interesting story in one of the books at a middle school I was tutor in. The quote comes from that story.
“The mother looked at the little boy accusing, as though he
had given away a secret of some importance, and said unwillingly, ‘Greenwich.’”
– One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts by Shirley Jackson
At nights
When no whispers of her child came,
She lay in that bed
Frightened that it would be a dream.
He would come back
Demanding their child,
Her son.
He had so much money;
Would the police really keep their word?
Could she keep her child safe?
They needed time
To heal;
He was so young.
When her father offered to help,
Have them live with him,
She had wept
For a deep joy.
Her father could help,
He would protect them,
Like he protected her brothers and sister
On moonless, cold nights.
She had lied to friends,
Uncertain if someone would tell.
Her brothers lived near by;
They vowed to help.
She was scared though;
The unknown scared her,
As much as the dark.
She took what mattered to her
From that house,
Selling the rest,
Promising her child,
And her,
A better life.
This man with his trusting smile
Scared her.
Was it…?
But he had done as he said,
Sat on the steps,
Peanut shells on the ground
As her child and him ate.
He gave her his friend’s name,
A suggestion for good doughnuts,
A smile,
Peanuts for her father,
Her child on the drive.
She kept the name in her purse
As her child and she followed the van
Deciding her new life
Might start with a kind offer,
Trust,
And a peanut.
