Laughing makes us free
On this crisp October night
Gathered round Mom’s birthday cake
Giggling to her 37th candle’s delight
Craving our grandparents warm hugs
Their genuine love, support, and grace
It’s unnecessary to impress them
They love us no matter what we face
Needing his in-laws validation
He’s a good father, they need to know
His kids are busy learning
Not only selling candy, as they’ve been told
Standing atop our treadmill
In the living room we share
We each deliver verbal reports
On books we’ve barely read
Many of them motivational
Authors not quite suited for a child
Dad’s an expert on each one
Interrupting while we nervously smile
Focusing on the crack of the whip
Stuttering, I try to perform
Trying my best to ignore the room
Zeroing in on Dad’s voice to inform
What my next words will be
How to get out of this mess
Scratching my eye out of anxiety
Dreaming of my own bed to rest
Maybe if I slept forever
Never waking up to see
This insanity I’m living in
Where I’m not in control of me
I’d rather be drifting off in a dream
Then trapped inside my frame
Where someone else directs my every move
It makes me wish I was dead instead
Sarah Lopez 