John Bikes

Poem by Ana Marcela Ramirez Cabal

John bikes to work daily,
He pedals through daisies.
John, that’s what I named him,
The man, suit, and helmet.

John carries a small boy,
An older girl follows.
He never checks on her,
Alone, left to wallow.

City roads are danger,
They’ll bite you, they’ll burn you.
And trees, even stranger,
Can haunt you forever.

Yearns for a glance, briefly,
She’s falling behind.
John’s grasp tightens swiftly,
Alas, the wrong task.

At school he mistakes,
Her braids for the buses,
Her smile for the gateway,
Her voice for the masses.

Drop off, so easy,
When half doesn’t make it.
The girl fell, unnoticed,
Blissful unawareness.