buffy barricklow

Bumps

(in memory of Megan Johnson)

A thousand years ago, a little friend of ours fell off a teeter totter
and hit her head.
As she lay in a coma, we tore up the asphalt on our playgrounds and put
in mulch.

The day they brought her home with a nurse and a respirator, the school
called me.
My son had fallen and had taken a bump on a head that badly needed a
haircut.

The principal irreverently said I ought to shave that kid's head. We'd
worry less.
Time passed and more worries intruded and now we have come to this.

At a time when we are looking war in the face, the sky is falling, and
the 401 is bottoming out.
And the damned Republicans want another tax on gasoline and a ban on
riverboat gambling.
At a time when the chimney is probably leaking, and the toilet won't
stop running and
At a time when the grocery has stopped carrying the dog's favorite
brand
of dog food.

At a time such as this time.
With all that is going on in my life
My son elected to shave his head.

Done and done.