Staying Indoors

It began
innocently enough.

I was helpless,
being rolled around
in a stroller,
drooling all over
my little bib and tucker.

But before I end up,
seventy years later,
being rolled around
in a stroller,
drooling all over
my little bib and tucker,

I want to figure out
why I’m still letting
the grownups
tell me Who I Am.

“You’re such a good
little reader, but
you shouldn’t
read that;

be a good boy,
and give your heart
to Jesus;

don’t touch that,
or I’ll get my
stick.

Everybody loves
that movie,
what’s wrong
with you?

Why are you still
inside, Stevie?
Go outside and play.

What do you mean,
you’re not coming?
The whole neighborhood
will be there.”

Meanwhile,
my Maker
finds ways to
remind me that

the thing about
being offspring of
The Divine is
you are

cherished,
adored,
beloved,

even when
you stay indoors
to read that book
you’re not supposed
to read.

(Photo by Josh Applegate; UnSplash)