10th Birthday
Doogie Lish Sandtiger
For years I dreamed of being
ten. It was a rite of passage;
reaching double digits would mean
I’d fit in with the older kids
who picked me last for every
dodgeball game during the annual
Foster Picnic. It was an event meant
to advertise orphans for potential
foster homes, like an auction.
We were introduced on a stage while
families watched from their picnic
tables, faces stuffed with barbeque
ribs and soda pop, sometimes forgetting
that a human being was there for them
to shop. That year it fell on my birthday,
and as the auctioneer called my name
I hoped everybody would stop for
a moment to give me presents and pat
my back, sing a song and wish me
well on my tenth year of life. The auction
came and went within a few minutes and
nobody remembered my birthday--
I was not chosen.
I never want to have another birthday.
For more of Doogie's work email: [email protected]
For years I dreamed of being
ten. It was a rite of passage;
reaching double digits would mean
I’d fit in with the older kids
who picked me last for every
dodgeball game during the annual
Foster Picnic. It was an event meant
to advertise orphans for potential
foster homes, like an auction.
We were introduced on a stage while
families watched from their picnic
tables, faces stuffed with barbeque
ribs and soda pop, sometimes forgetting
that a human being was there for them
to shop. That year it fell on my birthday,
and as the auctioneer called my name
I hoped everybody would stop for
a moment to give me presents and pat
my back, sing a song and wish me
well on my tenth year of life. The auction
came and went within a few minutes and
nobody remembered my birthday--
I was not chosen.
I never want to have another birthday.
For more of Doogie's work email: [email protected]