gotong.

it was a summer night when my mother finally left my father.
their relationship did not end in a dramatic argument or tearful goodbye.
when we packed and moved all our things out
my father was actually sound asleep,
drugged out on the living room couch.
i was six years old
but i remember wondering how on earth
he didn't wake up from all the noise we made.
my sister and my mom kept walking back and forth past that couch
lugging heavy cardboard boxes out the door.
but the most he did was shift sides in his sleep.
when we finally arrived at our new apartment,
we put down all our cardboard boxes
and realized we didn't bring any furniture of our own.
we had no couch, no bed to sleep on.
but after our big escape
we were nervous and excited,
my mom, my sister and i.
that night we wrapped ourselves in blankets
and huddled together
on the floor of the main bedroom.
we weren't quite ready
for the difficult journey ahead
but we knew one thing:
as long as the three of us were together,
we were home.