The Grownups
When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
Adults nod and say, "Life brings
What it brings." They pour their tea,
They check their phones with distant eyes.
They fold laundry, pay the bills,
Swallow what cannot be undone.
They speak of weather, traffic, news,
To silence all the soul pursues.
When hearts break wide, when hope takes flight,
They smile by day, by night their grip holds tight.
They iron shirts, rehearse their grace,
A calm disguise, a practiced face.
But sometimes in the grocery store,
A song spills through the sliding door.
They pause between the bread and wine,
Remembering when their world felt truly fine.
Then late at night, when all is still,
When silence holds what daylight killed,
They hum those tunes, soft as prayer:
The ache of life, suspended there.
