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cpgurrl
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Sprawl
Life is happening in slow motion,
or so it seems,
as all my dreams crash down,
and
I am sprawled
on the floor
by the powerful force
called gravity.
Black out
and
consciousness return
in the same second.
Senses come back.
I feel
pain
against
cold metal floor
I see
my glasses
lying between the floorboards,
broken.
I hear
a clatter,
rushing feet,
and
screaming.
Who is screaming?
I ask myself
Oh.
I stop screaming.
I am safe
I realize
I have fallen
I spot
my walker.
I grasp for it.
People are all around me.
I stare up at them.
Are you okay,
they are asking.
I don’t know
but
I say
I am fine.
They are crowding me.
I want to get out.
I crawl
between
other people’s feet.
My walker is there!
I climb into it.
It is hard;
I am weak,
but I manage
without
too much fuss
from them.
I am mad
at my classmates,
because
even when they see
I am fine,
they stand
over me,
clucking
like hens.
I want to scream at them,
but
restrain myself.
I am tired
I sink
into a chair,
grateful
it is over.
The embarrassment is over.
The teacher goes back
to the board,
and
I am forgotten,
like a piece of homework
found,
or a dinner finished.
I become normal again,
part of the fabric of school,
instead of sprawled on it.
---Elizabeth Hassler (guess who THAT is)
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040719
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