When My Phone Trembles, and: The Scared and the Vulnerable

When My Phone Trembles for D’Angelo

When my phoneTremblesAfter midnightI never think    of good news:    Someone’s birthday    An overseas friend        Forgetting        The time difference

I never smell    Apples baking    Or nutmeg dancing    On sweet potatoes    Yeast rolls rising    Fish frying

I always look    For a way to hold        Myself        TogetherBeing a 60s person    I know        You have to be            Strong

When my phone tremblesAfter midnightI takeA deep breathReach for my glassesThink of my son

And I Pray

The Scared and the Vulnerable

On a foggy nightWith that sort of misty rainThat is wonderful for sleepingBut nothing at all for drivingI traveled homeFrom a great dinner party

We were all so jolly

Driving my ninety-year-old auntWho was visiting from out of townWe were catching up on family

And arguing politics

I turned up our mountainJust as I admonished her:But The President hasn’t done anythingAbout jobsWhen something said:    You are going too fast

It may have been the wine that eveningBut I have to confess:I speed a lot

So I heeded the voice

My eyes always sweep the trailLeading to my home

From Side to Side

There is always a catOr raccoon seldom a coyote and at this hour of night the turtlesAnd snakes are in bed

My aunt asked: WhyAre you hitting your brakes

When a beautiful white stripSurrounded by shiny black furWith fear in her eyesGot caught in my headlightsAnd stopped

I stopped too

And waited.

She continued her journey across the trailAnd I hopeHome to her babies

We need to watchFor the scared and the vulnerable

One day it may beUs