Waiting for Her to Love Him

A woman comes home late from work.
She hangs her jacket and deposits her keys robotically,
Then proceeds into the living room.
A boy is waiting for her to love him.

She notices him immediately,
Even though he's in the corner.
A four year old
Waiting for her to love him.

Where she would've turned on the news, she, instead, chooses cartoons.
Hoping that the child will move,
But he remains there and continues
Waiting for her to love him.

Cooking dinner in the other room
The woman sets the table for two.
Her and the boy that is
Waiting for her to love him.

She calls for him to come and eat,
But he remains planted in that corner
While she eats her fill
Then cleans the mess.

The woman draws a bath and calls for the child.
She plans to bathe with him like a family would,
But the boy doesn't show.
She knows he hasn't moved from the corner.

Opening the door to a room that isn't hers,
The woman calls to the nameless boy.
She tells him it is time for bed
Then sings a soothing lullaby to the empty room.

In bed, she stares at the ceiling
All the while she is thinking,
'Today is the anniversary
Of my decision to kill a child that
Waited for me to love him.'