|___|

Far from home life goes on
Hardly a beat is missed
(Unlike a past life)
And everything picks up again
In a new place.

The ocean air is bitter
And summer never seems to leave.
Its a permanent vacation from childhood
From childhood places
And childhood faces.

One moment you're huddled
Besides a soggy bonfire in a field
Clutching a beer
And the next
You've moved in with your boyfriend
In the room you rent
With your hard-earned cash.

All grown up now
Sporadic calls home
A job, school and grocery shopping
Sap away the happily lethargic
Girl I once was.

I've forgotten the math
I worked so hard for.
I no longer remember
Periodic Tables
Or how long it takes
To get to Kindersly.

A medium coffee is $1.20
So is hot chocolate.
Soups come off at 9 pm
Except Chicken Noodle.
No, the chili isn't ready yet.

It takes 10 minutes to get to the bus
15 minutes on the bus
To get to campus.

Ask me about McCarthyism
Or Gandhi's fasts.
The ablative case of "farmer"
Is "agrem" and
Helen of Troy hatched from an egg.

My bedroom, once tan,
Is now lime green.
The family pet, once a fat cat
Is now a yappy puppy.

In between the flights
Work and school
I never noticed
How far the ocean is
From home.