when a childhood is over

When childhood is over


Mama! Throw down two slices of bread
one for me and one for Cal
she did, sometimes we caught the sliced bread
before they landed on the ground, but that didn't matter
we were hungry
Cal and I were playing football, the goalpost
was an old wall opposite
we dribbled and scored every time,
I scored 27 times Cal 18, and I was taller and
stronger than him.
I didn't know Mother had to leave this afternoon,
she had tuberculosis among the poorer people,
and I was sent to a farm

Again! Was it because they knew I was good with animals?

I don't think it is good to separate families this way if a son
stay somewhere, say 2 years from when he is twelve, meeting
his family again is not the same, the trust is not there
An elderly nurse came to follow me to the bus
she disapproved
that my brother, 20, at the time, was moving in for
the duration, and she found it morally wrong.
the bus rattled, and the smelt of diesel made me sick
in the end, I left and walked the rest of the way
When I came back from the farm, everything had changed
my brother had two children, my mother looked old and
grieved for the loss of the family I once knew