Amanda Zucco

Gone

We chose this life,
the one we live
The factory was not for him

I’m raising two kids
all on my own
Oh well, the money is good

The day will come
when he meets his son
I wonder what he will think

Is the parental bond an innate thing
or will the baby scream

Does our daughter remember
the sound of his voice, his big gentle hands
Reacquaintenance begins

Gone again—
I’m raising two kids
all on my own

My Bed

A retreat like no other
nightly beckons my name
A world of carefree living
A chance to escape the mundane
Surrounded in comfort, sleepy sighs
Cocooned in silence
until rudely awakened

Someday

Providing for the family
Life’s only major goal
To someday own a house, a car
Resources running low
To drop a dollar in the hat
Seems frivolous to some
But to this working man
It’s only just for fun
To gamble hard-made earnings
No intent farther from the truth
This weekly dollar allows the man
To dream, think big
If only, what if…
Dreams really could come true.

Silently

My war within begins at home
We sent two soldiers off
To fight in lands unknown to them
To carry another’s cross
So brave yet scared
Emotions raw
Pride and constant fear
Personal thoughts and feelings
About the war
No longer matter
They cannot change circumstances
Silently I chant,
Pay attention, stay safe
Soldiers of mine

Crazy, mesmerizing
Bright colors swirling in the wind
A whimsical garden addition
Pikes my little one’s curiosity
To stand there and stare

Touch me
Love me like you used to
Hate me
Don’t ever let me go
To walk away takes such courage

Ripples glide across the pond
As a brown thrush cries;
Walking, soft green grass under feet
Blue sky, white billowy clouds overhead
Content… this simple way of life

Tears flowing
For I know that you must go
I watch my life
The past, present, and future
Independently climb upon the big yellow bus

I want nothing else
But to lie in this place
Undisturbed by the world
Exploring my own thoughts and ideas
Of how life should be

Squinting my eyes
to gaze
upon the blazing sphere

The soft rhythm
of patterned breathing
caresses my ears

I long to create
a peaceful retreat
to hide
Each and every day
growing increasingly crazy

I remember walking,
earth scents infused the air
just the other day
with my children
intent on leading the way

Night sounds resonate
nature’s symphony
along the stream

Inflicted
by the weight of the world
my cares
         soaring upward
to him who hears my prayers

Loud, obnoxious
birds of the night
not one, but two!
Broken concentration
         ears ringing.

Fluff
floating in the wind
         freely
released from the mother ship
to spread it’s weedy beauty.

Warm, sunny day
nature’s soft melody
Here am I
         ensnared
in this dungeon of learning.

Jubilant hope,
         joy.
The world awaits
her plaintive cries-
silence fills the air.

A young mother quietly weeps
at the sight of her newborn child
lying in the box
surrounded in love
by that from which she came.