Let's Pretend

I sit among parents

who rub their foreheads,

try to smooth the crease between their eyes,

and fidget with their handouts on back to school night.

We all try to find comfort

on metal benches in the elementary school cafeteria.

 

Just for the moment,

I want to say,

let’s stop and close our eyes,

pretend that we know

it all turns out okay,

pretend that we can see our future adult children

happy, healthy, independent.

 

Oh, there’s the peace I have inside myself.

Yes, there’s my husband’s gentle hand.

I want to hold on to this,

and know that it will be okay.

 

Now, I can open my eyes,

and know, really know,

it is true.

 

Jennie Linthorst is a therapeutic writing coach and the founder of LifeSPEAKS Poetry Therapy. She works privately with men and women helping them tell their stories and heal, through reading and writing poetry and personal essays. Jennie coaches clients all across the country and around the world via phone, Skype, e-mail, in addition to in person meetings. She is the author of a book of poems, Autism Disrupted: A Mother's Journey of Hope. Her family’s story is captured in the award-winning documentary film, “Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story”.