School Days

As the big yellow school bus stopped, we jumped off.
We walked down the tracks on the busy 311 toward home.
It took 20 minutes to walk at a steady pace to get home.
We lived in a split level house down below Glenola Baptist Church.
On days when my brother and sister were not at school,
it was scary to walk the tracks alone. We kept a watch for
people that could stop and pick us up. When we got home, Mom
always called to see if we were alright.
During the time we were waiting for Mom to get home,
my brother was in charge. We always argued about who's day
it was to do the dishes. The house had to be clean,
when Mom got home.