Hello! I hear it’s Black Friday. A quote about shopping from Seth Godin inspired my poem today. It’s a rough draft for sure, squeezed in before I start a day off. Hooray!

 

Mall Rats

“The buying race is over. Amazon won. The shopping race, though, the struggle to create experiences that are worth paying for, that’s just beginning.” –Seth Godin

The malls are less full, the porches are full of boxes.

My screen anticipates what I want next—links to my latest story assignment.

I want “The Gift of Failure,” a book to walk me out of the storm

But we walk ourselves out of the storm, with whomever walks beside us.

 

My screen anticipates what’s next—links to my latest story assignment.

I want my daughter to be a counselor in training, a leader who lives in a cabin.

She walks herself to her own future, not turning back, always looking ahead.

She leaves behind clothes that I sort, wash & fold.

 

My daughter wants to be a CIT; she lives in a cabin with her friends.

She returns with stories of hikes gone awry, rolling down hills, muddied & alive.

She brings home nature-stained clothes that I teach her to wash, she never folds them.

She lives like I used to: amid the rubble, a floor collage that’s only a mess to others.

 

She regales us with stories of hikes gone awry, delights in off-trail adventures without us.

Oh, I’m happy as I lean into her side hugs, breathe hello while slowly letting go.

She lives like I used to: making rubble into floor collages that she’ll walk away from.

Yet she walks the mall with me still, no porch boxes replace being together.

11.24.2017