Annabelle
It’s what I see
when people’s carts are loaded
with stuff: stuffed bears,
cartoon slippers
and plastic Santas.
What I see is
stuff nobody really needs:
tacky, cheap, made
by people who have
nothing.
What my mom sees is
harmless stuff
bought with love
for family fun.
She doesn’t see is
tin shacks with no floors
sick kids with no medicine
bucket toilets and dirty water
empty plates and bloated bellies.
She says I shouldn’t
think so much about things
that happen so far away
in places where people
are grateful for any job.
She blames Mr. Dawe
for filling our heads
with negative thoughts
and making us see the world
as one big ugly place.
But I say
not seeing the world
that way is what
made the world
that way in the first place .
Christopher says
we’re both right
but that’s not
what I wanted
to hear.