Heartbreaker

No, she says,

in a silken tone

that cloaks the steel

in her sweet voice

Two letters, one word

with all the power

to break my heart

every time she says it

and that’s all the time

Do your homework

No

Clean your room

No

Stop looking at your phone

No

It could be worse

for sometimes she says

nothing at all

A blank gaze greets

my angry demands

looks through my

desperate pleas

Then she rolls her eyes

and halts my diatribe

in mid-stride

There was a time

when that annoying "no"
was triumphed by

by a bubbly “yes”

Did you eat your dinner

Yes
It

Yes

Have you put away your toys

Yes

Did I blink and miss the switch

From an eager to please
cheerful toddler

To a teenage solitude seeker

Inhabiting her own universe

where I am an alien

I ask permission
to enter her world
She says no
in a steely tone
with no hint of silk
to soften the blow


© 2013 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved