Lament of the Pandemic Children

mommy and daddy,
please go away…
i want you to miss me,
come home and kiss me,
and then, like we used to,
together all play
 
all you do now, is stare at a screen
and talk on the phone,
while I feel so trapped here,
five days a week, at home all alone
 
i am here but you don’t see me,
i speak but you don’t hear,
you are both so far away,
even though so near
 
i have all of my stuffed animals,
i have all of my toys…
but I’d rather be playing with you,
or at least with real girls and boys
 
so mommy and daddy,
please go away…
but come home like you used to,
at the end of the day
tell me you missed me,
pick me up, then kiss me…
 
now mommy and daddy…
let’s go out and play!
​

S. Huey

* First published in Raven Cage Zine, Issue 57 (May 28, 2021).
​ 
----------
Commentary: I make no pretense at being a poet. For me, this is a short story with a few words of rhyme. How does this "poem" make you feel? Hopefully, sad. But such verse can also open our eyes to truths both previously unseen and unfelt. How often do we look at life through the eyes of our children? To see as they see, to feel as they feel? They live in their own heads as do we. Food for thought I'd say. One of my personal favorite short stories (speaking of those that I have penned) was inspired by watching children play on a playground. I learned a lot that day.