FicWad

At just the tiny age of five
The boy was oh, so sweet
With a smile of purest gold
And eyes the color of wheat.

This boy was a unique child
From a white mother and a black father
And because of it, to all
This dear, sweet boy was a bother.

He was picked on in school
And teachers ignored this.
This sweet boy would cry
But stop with his mother’s kiss.

His mother was a gentle soul
With all the peace one could hold.
The deep sigh of relaxation
In one breathing, beautiful mold.

His father had a laugh
That boomed three houses away
Big and sturdy, but loving
The boy loved him ever day

This sweet child was asked
Questions that made him fret.
“Hey Flatso!” The other children called,
“Does your mommy hate your daddy yet?!”

Such worry came over the poor boy
As he thought of his reasons for life
Their love was obvious to all
But would it be struck by a knife?

He asked his mother one day
Frightened of what she’d say
But his mother just smiled
And said something he remembers to this day.

“I want you to hear something,” she said,
With the wisdom of an elder
As she picked her son up
And went up to his father.

In their bedroom he lay
Taking a quick power nap
She leaned over her husband
Waking him with a slight tap.

He woke with a snore and looked up
At his blonde wife and dark child.
Without a word, she placed her boy upon his chest
And spoke, her voice soft and mild.

“Put your ear to his chest,” she told the boy
“And tell me what you hear.”
He did as she asked as the father stayed still
And he cried, “Momma, there’s a thumping here!”

His mother smiled and nodded
Saying, “That’s your daddy’s heartbeat.
And as long as you can hear it
I’ll always love him, my sweet.”

This talk made the boy feel great
And he would never doubt their love again.
Momma “exchanged words” with his teachers
And successfully lifted the weird ban.

For months he was treated equal
And hardly any tears came with time.
But then a tragedy shook the boy
In the time of his prime.

His daddy got horribly ill
With a long word he couldn’t say.
But whatever this “menin-jy-tis” was
Was taking his father’s laughter away.

His daddy grew pale, quiet, and scary
As his mother’s peace flew away.
The boy tried to fix things in what ways he could
But nothing made the calm and laughter stay.

Then one morning he woke to a scream
That scared him near to death.
He recognized his momma’s voice
And crawled out of bed, short of breath.

His bare feet inched forward
Toward where the wails came from
He entered his parents’ bedroom
The sight he saw struck him dumb

His loving, peaceful mother
Kneeled crumpled over the edge
Over her bed, on his Daddy’s hand, crying so hard
There was no room for happiness to wedge

He looked at his Daddy
Who laid stiller than before
This sight scared him to death
And squeezed his lungs sore.

But he bravely stepped forward
His mother didn’t hear him come in
And he climbed on the big bed
And laid his ear upon the chest of his kin.

He heard the sound of death itself
Emptiness and hollows of dark
“I can’t hear his heartbeat,” he said
Looking up, seeing his mother’s eyes stark.

She stared at her five-year-old son
As if she couldn’t believe he was there
Tears showing his frightened core
“Momma,” he sobbed…

“Does this mean you don’t love Daddy anymore?”