Home from the Rodeo

 

Home from the Rodeo

September 1993 

you were four

your baby sister 

wasn’t a week old yet 

you left with your dad 

and older sister 

for a rodeo 

at Midway Farms 

2 miles away 

down the highway 

down a long stretch 

of dirt road 

but halfway through my “nap when the baby naps,” 

I got a phone call 

from a subdivision neighbor 

“Mrs. Meyer, 

we found your son 

on Highway 46”

I panicked! 

then he added 

“he got lost….

a lady saw him running alone 

on 46

and tried 

to pick him up 

but he wouldn’t get 

in her car 

so she’s riding 

alongside him 

until he makes it home 

safely” 

alive, not dead 

     tears of relief 

           deep breath

that may have been 

the day 

you became a runner 

you were well-oriented 

you were cautious 

you were determined 

you still are 

you made it home on your own terms that day

with an angel

in tow