The Boring Road
We begged the aliens to come
People said Mom was crazy
Dad said Mom had more sense than others,
But not by a lot
He loved her, so we sat in a circle outside
And we begged the aliens to come
I never knew where I stood
If I wanted them to appear
Or if I just wanted Mom to like me
I told my friends Mom was crazy,
That I sat in a circle every night outside
And begged the aliens to come
I beat my chest in a pretend way
And exaggerated my face
“Please, you have to help us!” I cried
Kat from year 8 laughed the hardest
At night, when we would sit in a circle,
I would close my eyes and imagine
All the kids from school,
Kat from year 8 especially,
Coming with us
The aliens aren’t so bad
They’re here to save us
People would finally see Mom like
Dad saw her, with love
She just wanted us to be safe
She thought the aliens could
Save us from this terror
The terror of school and work
And whatnot: the boring road
When Kat from year 8 finally kissed me
I told her that I wanted the aliens to come, too
She laughed and chewed her gum even harder
She said I was funny, and I was funny
Weren’t we all kinda funny?
When the aliens finally came, I cried
Mom hugged me — Kat can’t
Come with us!
I let the green liquor take me,
And my fears with it
—Rebecca Farley
illustration by Happy Burbeck
