Mirror

Long day of painting
midnight blue Indigo colors
covering cement block walls
with secret nocturnal animals
shyly coming out from behind the trees
I hear the teacher Mrs. Kepler talking about
how to recognize birds
so I paint a horned owl on a tree limb
two bears rest quietly in the violet night grasses
tomorrow we add some constellations to the evening sky
and perhaps a bat or two
my right shoulder aches from painting for 7
straight hours
the purple stains on my hands
just a reminder of a day well spent
dinner with faculty
where we laugh because the smallest
child has littered the floor
with Pepperidge farm gold fish
I am amazed at Liz the art teacher
who handles that two year old well
and is still amazed at the progresses
of Wade, her second son who ran
today in the special Olympics
he hugs his 2 year old brother Hank
while showing the bite his younger sibling has given him
Wade holds the door and whispers
bye Ms. Mercy...a close call to Ms. Murphy
Tonight I am grateful for the miracle of Wade
and how a family can make it through
thick or thin and hold it together
I hope to mirror them in some ways