The Red Light

The mom in the van with a worried look on her face

Just two streets to go and she’ll see her son’s face

She mentally checks things off her list at a lightning fast speed

Come on light, she says, change to green

 

In the next lane over, a teen sits behind the wheel thinking about the baby in the back

She glances at her girl and there's a crack in her mask

As she thinks about the light bill, the gas money, and Christmas, she spills tears

She knows her life will only get harder with the years

Yet when the baby smiles the young mother smiles too and she says to the baby, oh, how I love you

 

Across the intersection in an old Chevy truck sit two people holding hands

It will be okay, says the man

Yet for the first time in their sixty-five year journey,

She doubts his confidence and feels her heart yearning

For just a mile down the road is the Chemotherapy center

Her mind feels as numb as the upcoming winter

She reaches over and grabs his hand

Feeling as if she is falling through quick sand

Cancer doesn’t care if you have six children and their little ones depending on you,

Not to mention her best friend, whom faced with her absence would not know what to do

So she turns away and utters a prayer

Please God dying right now is something I can’t bear

 

The tinted windows of the car make it hard to see the young man fixing his tie and thinking of where he will be

He’s on the way to a job interview and rehearses his talk,

All the while trying to ignore his father’s sneering face and voice saying, it’s your fault!

Yet no matter how hard he tries to forget or how fast he runs

His drunken father is here to say you’ll turn out like me, after all, you’re my son

He closes his eyes as his father’s voice grows still

I will not be like him- I will make something of myself, I will, I will

 

And finally, in the midst of all these unfamiliar faces, here I sit, taking it all in.

Isn’t it funny how much one can pick up just on a whim?

I happened to think about someone other than myself for once

I learned more things than I had in months

 

Suddenly, the light changes, going from dark red to bright green in a flash.

Stay, don’t go, I want to ask

And for one instant nobody moves, it’s as if life itself has been put on pause

Then, at once, they remember their cause

And they’re going, going, going, gone

I feel sad watching them go, I don’t want to move on

I feel like I know them, like we were friends

I don’t want this to end

 

I want to kiss the woman’s cheek and tell her to keep fighting her illness

Giving up now would be the opposite of harmless

I want to say do you know how truly blessed you are

To have a man who loves you more than his whole heart

To have lived over half your life with your soul mate

The man who still resembles the little boy you met at age eight

Always be grateful for the same young man who took you to prom

And fell more in love with you all night long

Recall the same man who wed you four falls after

And always filled you with laughter

Watch each one of your children come into this Earth,

And this man, now a daddy, say this is more than what I deserve

No matter what the test screens show

One only has to look at you to know

You’re a living miracle

Everything you’ve made, all you’ve done, it’s incredible

Look at the love and family that is sensational

What you’ve been through is simply motivational

You’re an angel and can never truly die

Too many people love you to forget your extraordinary life

 

 I want to hug the small brunette teen who is still a child herself

Even though she feels like her life is on a shelf

She fought for this baby

No one promised to help her, the daddy never even said maybe

But one day, sometime down the road,

She’ll meet the one who will lift her heavy load,

Who will look at her with love, acceptance, and compassion in his eyes

For this child now a woman really has tried

To be a good mother, the best she knows how

And to always, always, make her daughter proud

No matter how many jobs she has to take

She will never regret the consequence her choice has made

Because what she thought was the end turned out to be the beginning

And really she feels as if she is winning

She will make it through and she will smile while doing it

 She could not ever leave her child or quit

She never imagined she could love someone so much

But when she held her the first time, she just barely touched

Her perfect fingers and toes

And tiny little nose

And, right before the doctor whisked her away

She whispered the three words for the first time that day

I love you

This was true

 

I want to pat the back of the successful youth

You aren’t him, I’d say, you’re you

Don’t live in his past, embrace your future

You’re always going to wonder why he had to be such a loser

And you’re always going to love him, no matter what you say

Because he’ll always be your dad at the end of the day

You wish he would have been around to see you grow

You would have made him proud, you know

But it’s his loss that he never got to see

The incredible man that you turned out to be

As much as you think so, you’re really not like him at all

You have so much greatness in you that he never saw

But your mother did and she worked so hard

To make you see that you don’t always need to put up your guard

Because there are people in the world that love you for you

And don’t need you to give any proof

Like your best friend, the one that you’ve come to love

She’ll take you, scarred as you are, because she sees the beauty beneath the rough

She knows how hard life has been on you

But she also knows how much you can and will do

So don’t wait too long

To make her your wife

There are just some things you have to take in life

To make yourself happy, and just to survive

Don’t shut yourself off and let your guard show

Remember how your mom said this is not your fault you know

Forget about him, and look at your mom

How she loves you so much, and constantly says you did nothing wrong

She has worked all her life to build you back up

To repair all the damage done by one man she’d say that’s life, pup

Your mama always said you’d make it through

And look at what a great job she’s done with you

So here I am to say

You’ll do a great job today

And don’t give up just because he did

Come on, man, live

 

I want to touch the mother’s arm and say stop worrying

You’re always flurrying

You never think you’re good enough

You’re just almost out of luck

You’re always so afraid of making everything perfect

You’ve missed out on the things that count, the imperfects

It’s okay if there are dirty dishes in the sink

Look at what you have, stop and just think

Your husband misses the funny, beautiful, blushing girl he wed

Your seven year old son won’t always want you to tuck him into bed

Stop picking him apart

Look at his heart

So similar to your old one and yet so unique

His young spirit has not even started to peak

Forgive the drunk driver who took your baby girl

Your baby girl with her blonde curls

The thief who took her stole your happiness as well and made you this way

Because of the life-changing act that happened that day      

I know her sweet spirit will forever haunt you

But think about the people who are still alive with you

Go back to them, before it’s too late

Before it’s them you start to hate

Remember what you used to say

Life isn’t about the perfect things, it’s the imperfects that make the day

Move on, they need you

They miss you

 

Yet I don’t say any of this as I watch them go

I feel as if I should let them know

That I hope they take my advice

Because I want them to be alright

They turn in all different directions and I know I’ll never see them again

This seems almost like a sin

I guess I’ll never really know if what I thought about them was true

But see how much you realize when you think of someone other than you

I saw other people’s need for understanding

And I wished I could stay close at hand

Maybe I everything I thought about them was wrong

It was like singing the words to an unfamiliar song

But as I sat there under that red light

I thought again maybe I was right

 

 

 

It will be okay, says the man

Yet for the first time in their sixty-five year journey,

She doubts his confidence and feels her heart yearning

For just a mile down the road is the Chemotherapy center

Her mind feels as numb as the upcoming winter

She reaches over and grabs his hand

Feeling as if she is falling through quick sand

Cancer doesn’t care if you have six children and their little ones depending on you,

Not to mention her best friend, whom faced with her absence would not know what to do

So she turns away and utters a prayer

Please God dying right now is something I can’t bear

 

The tinted windows of the car make it hard to see the young man fixing his tie and thinking of where he will be

He’s on the way to a job interview and rehearses his talk,

All the while trying to ignore his father’s sneering face and voice saying, it’s your fault!

Yet no matter how hard he tries to forget or how fast he runs

His drunken father is here to say you’ll turn out like me, after all, you’re my son

He closes his eyes as his father’s voice grows still

I will not be like him- I will make something of myself, I will, I will

 

And finally, in the midst of all these unfamiliar faces, here I sit, taking it all in.

Isn’t it funny how much one can pick up just on a whim?

I happened to think about someone other than myself for once

I learned more things than I had in months

 

Suddenly, the light changes, going from dark red to bright green in a flash.

Stay, don’t go, I want to ask

And for one instant nobody moves, it’s as if life itself has been put on pause

Then, at once, they remember their cause

And they’re going, going, going, gone

I feel sad watching them go, I don’t want to move on

I feel like I know them, like we were friends

I don’t want this to end

 

I want to kiss the woman’s cheek and tell her to keep fighting her illness

Giving up now would be the opposite of harmless

I want to say do you know how truly blessed you are

To have a man who loves you more than his whole heart

To have lived over half your life with your soul mate

The man who still resembles the little boy you met at age eight

Always be grateful for the same young man who took you to prom

And fell more in love with you all night long

Recall the same man who wed you four falls after

And always filled you with laughter

Watch each one of your children come into this Earth,

And this man, now a daddy, say this is more than what I deserve

No matter what the test screens show

One only has to look at you to know

You’re a living miracle

Everything you’ve made, all you’ve done, it’s incredible

Look at the love and family that is sensational

What you’ve been through is simply motivational

You’re an angel and can never truly die

Too many people love you to forget your extraordinary life

 

 I want to hug the small brunette teen who is still a child herself

Even though she feels like her life is on a shelf

She fought for this baby

No one promised to help her, the daddy never even said maybe

But one day, sometime down the road,

She’ll meet the one who will lift her heavy load,

Who will look at her with love, acceptance, and compassion in his eyes

For this child now a woman really has tried

To be a good mother, the best she knows how

And to always, always, make her daughter proud

No matter how many jobs she has to take

She will never regret the consequence her choice has made

Because what she thought was the end turned out to be the beginning

And really she feels as if she is winning

She will make it through and she will smile while doing it

 She could not ever leave her child or quit

She never imagined she could love someone so much

But when she held her the first time, she just barely touched

Her perfect fingers and toes

And tiny little nose

And, right before the doctor whisked her away

She whispered the three words for the first time that day

I love you

This was true

 

I want to pat the back of the successful youth

You aren’t him, I’d say, you’re you

Don’t live in his past, embrace your future

You’re always going to wonder why he had to be such a loser

And you’re always going to love him, no matter what you say

Because he’ll always be your dad at the end of the day

You wish he would have been around to see you grow

You would have made him proud, you know

But it’s his loss that he never got to see

The incredible man that you turned out to be

As much as you think so, you’re really not like him at all

You have so much greatness in you that he never saw

But your mother did and she worked so hard

To make you see that you don’t always need to put up your guard

Because there are people in the world that love you for you

And don’t need you to give any proof

Like your best friend, the one that you’ve come to love

She’ll take you, scarred as you are, because she sees the beauty beneath the rough

She knows how hard life has been on you

But she also knows how much you can and will do

So don’t wait too long

To make her your wife

There are just some things you have to take in life

To make yourself happy, and just to survive

Don’t shut yourself off and let your guard show

Remember how your mom said this is not your fault you know

Forget about him, and look at your mom

How she loves you so much, and constantly says you did nothing wrong

She has worked all her life to build you back up

To repair all the damage done by one man she’d say that’s life, pup

Your mama always said you’d make it through

And look at what a great job she’s done with you

So here I am to say

You’ll do a great job today

And don’t give up just because he did

Come on, man, live

 

I want to touch the mother’s arm and say stop worrying

You’re always flurrying

You never think you’re good enough

You’re just almost out of luck

You’re always so afraid of making everything perfect

You’ve missed out on the things that count, the imperfects

It’s okay if there are dirty dishes in the sink

Look at what you have, stop and just think

Your husband misses the funny, beautiful, blushing girl he wed

Your seven year old son won’t always want you to tuck him into bed

Stop picking him apart

Look at his heart

So similar to your old one and yet so unique

His young spirit has not even started to peak

Forgive the drunk driver who took your baby girl

Your baby girl with her blonde curls

The thief who took her stole your happiness as well and made you this way

Because of the life-changing act that happened that day      

I know her sweet spirit will forever haunt you

But think about the people who are still alive with you

Go back to them, before it’s too late

Before it’s them you start to hate

Remember what you used to say

Life isn’t about the perfect things, it’s the imperfects that make the day

Move on, they need you

They miss you

 

Yet I don’t say any of this as I watch them go

I feel as if I should let them know

That I hope they take my advice

Because I want them to be alright

They turn in all different directions and I know I’ll never see them again

This seems almost like a sin

I guess I’ll never really know if what I thought about them was true

But see how much you realize when you think of someone other than you

I saw other people’s need for understanding

And I wished I could stay close at hand

Maybe I everything I thought about them was wrong

It was like singing the words to an unfamiliar song

But as I sat there under that red light

I thought again maybe I was right

 

 

 

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