BY Maya Green
I say, ‘Sun is out, it looks so warm outside’
But don’t be fooled: it’s minus 5 degrees!
If that is not cold, then I don’t know what is
That’s way too cold to stomach, so says I
A tropical jungle boy, who has been there
So I know so, for I have truly felt it
As the temperature drops, the body reacts
A defence mechanism kick in, promptly
It’s nature’s way, to protect us, from the cold
By constricting our blood vessels
And increasing our internal pressure within
So of a ‘cold stomach’, is what they call it
O yes, a thought did pass through my mind
To be a student once again
Living on campus, and digging into the piles
Yes, piles upon piles of books, for company In the library, and also in the dormitory
To be a student, is being in a noble cause
Would I go through, this malady again?
To cramp my time, through all my reading
To return to the past, to be young again
Or just be contended, with playing daddy
The reason I’m here, in the very first place
To send my girl, so so far away from home
Dateline:
January 6, 2017
At the Portland State University (PSU)
A poem capturing a father’s feelings when leaving his daughter far away from home.
