knotted laces

by

shirley gibson

yes she is coming i hear her old lady shoes clonking up the stairs she said your shoe laces must be tied and not knotted tied and not knotted

yes they are knotted i must not be late for breakfast it is six oclock the laces are knotted and i am late

yes she is coming up the long stairs in her old lady shoes the laces are stubborn and garbled

yes the other children spill out of their rooms every morning with bright eyes shoes tied and tumble down the stairs like so many puppies i stay behind

yes my eyes are not bright my hair hangs down over my face my shoe laces are not tied

yes i am not a friendly puppy child i am the runt

yes my nose is running i am afraid my stubborn fingers fight with the laces i am only five years old my heart is beating so hard my whole body is beating so hard my whole body is shaking

yes i want my mama my mama is not coming she is not my mama she is the aunty edith the

yes maam my mama is never coming

yes i hear the murmur of the happy puppy children sitting down to breakfast

yes i am late she is coming and my shoe laces are like thin white snakes doing what they want and not what i want

yes they will not come unknotted

yes i am crying thick ugly tears i am scraggly and wet with a runny nose and red eyes i will never be able to tie these shoes i wish i could melt into the floor and disappear but i cant

yes she will hit me because i cant disappear into the floor because i am late for breakfast because my shoe laces are knotted she will hit me because i am a runt child

yes she thinks i will grovel and pee on the floor like a puppy but she is wrong

yes i am a runt puppy a runt coyote puppy child i will not cower i will curl my lip and snarl i will chew up those knotted laces with my sharp bright teeth i will chew up her old lady shoes

yes and gnaw on her ankles i will glide down the stairs like a shadow

yes i will sit at the table with those bright puppy children with their shoe laces tied with their hair neatly braided

yes i will show them my teeth i will lay my ears back

yes she is coming her old lady shoes clonking on the long hallway

yes she is opening the tall door

yes i am not sorry for my knotted laces for my red eyes i am not sorry for my stringy hair

yes i am the coyote child

yes i do not grovel when she hits me

yes i do not cry

yes i sit down to breakfast with soft puppy children

yes i am late

yes i show them my hard eyes my sharp teeth

yes my laces are still knotted

yes

Can you spot the "coyote kid"? Here's a hint.
She is the only girl wearing cowboy boots.