Waste

I woke up early one morning

wiping sleep from my eyes

I saw a roach on the wall

and a man standing in the hall

from as far as I could see

he wasn't my father nor was he

the dad of any sister or brother I had

when I approached

the man was yelling at the roach

but, the roach wasn't listening

the man had a big red bowl in one hand

and, a box of cookie crisp was in the other

he turned and rolled his shifty eyes at me

then he went back in the room with my mother

after getting a drink of water

from the tap

I went back and woke my brother

to tell him, "I saw the cookie monster"

he shook his head back and forth

saying, "It ain't no such thing"

but, when he woke up for breakfast

he believed