Why I Hate the Sunshine

The first warm day of the year

And I return from the store

Sweating lightly in my t-shirt and shorts

Waiting for the air to kick in

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I put the groceries away

And feel the heat coming off

Of a multi-pack of tissues

And myself

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And I think

Seeing the patterns of puffy clouds

And tasteful plaids

On the tissue boxes

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Of the real reason

I hate sunshine

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It’s of the loss of innocence

Of security

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A pantry always full of groceries

Tissues in the cabinet

TP on the roll

Water at the tap

Clothes on my back

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No question of where I’d live

Or what I’d do

Just go to school

Come home

Repeat

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Mom and Dad did it all

Now it’s me

And there’s terror every day

Even in the sun

As I stare in the face of unemployment

And being relegated

To the life of a relic

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Put on the shelf for no one to find

Or look for

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There is the terror

Even in the sun.