The Struggle Begins
by Amanda Qualls

When I grab the bath towel
Her expression grows mulish
Steam fogs the bathroom mirror
Muddy footprints lead to the big tub

Over the edge of the tub, her small head peeks out
Floating above white clouds of bubbles
No, she says, shaking her head
Yes, I say, and the struggle begins

Plastic farm animals make a line around the tub
A farmer stands in command with his little pitch fork
Brown horse,
Black and white cows,
Pink pigs,
Yellow chickens

Behind schedule,
The bedtime story waits
Yet she continues to play
Now, I tell her, or she'll miss her favorite story

Long days of childhood never fit into short days of adulthood
I remember the summer days of long ago
For hours and hours I played, until my mother's yell called me home
And tomorrow brought another long day

Tomorrow always felt far away
Now it's here too fast, with vanilla shampoo and kid's bubble bath
She steps out of the tub and into my arms
The struggle ends, for now