[title subtitle=”lines Gloria Tran”]1st Place Winner[/title]
“Been to Nashville,
going back”
is what I told the man
in the antique mall
where we stopped
to stretch our legs
and slim our wallets.
Such simple words
for so many emotions—
been to see our son,
senior at the university,
who is still growing,
still learning who he is,
what he wants
in the world—
still needing us
but not wanting
to admit it,
in his own world,
so far from ours.
The ache in my heart
is matched by
the yearning in his
for a life of his own.
