One More Day

By Anonymous

Grandma,

The last time I saw you

After the wedding

Outside the Inn on Main

Helping you get into the car

And go off to Connecticut

I hugged you and your eyes were not the same

Later I asked my mom if she noticed

That the light was gone

And you did not cry saying goodbye

My mom, uncle, and I getting in the other car

My aunt asking us to stay longer —

We all want to but we can’t

Rushing to the airport to go back to San Diego

So I wouldn’t miss more days of school

And my parents wouldn’t miss more days of work

To continue the rat race —

Working extra to catch up just because

I wanted to share my cousin’s special moment

With the rest of my family

But,

What if we could have just stayed

For just one more day?

We would have been punished by the rat race But that one extra day would have been

The last day I spent with you

5:30am. Beep. Beep. Beep. I’m back in the race.