"Gutsy Mama"
By, Cheryl Harwell Bailey

I was standing in our front yard, 
 when I saw the girl across the street,
 make fun of my little brother.
 It stopped me dead in my tracks.
 She proceeded to jerk his crutches out from under him.
She pushed him. 
He has moderate cerebral palsy,
 and was recovering from major leg surgery.

 Before I even had time to think,
 I was across the street, 
retrieving & placing the crutches under "Steve,"
 all the while punching this bully like a human cyclone.

 I was distracted when her mother came outside
 and began to scream at me,
 which allowed my opponent time to grab my ponytail
 and drag me down the street.

 Suddenly my "Mother" appeared, demanding 
"Bully Mom,"
 "to get herself in the road,"
 as my mama's dainty finger thumped her chest.
 At this, the bully mom, who 
towered above my mama, 
ran into her house. 

 Her daughter dropped my skull on the hot pavement 
like a sack of potatoes, and also ran into the house.

I learned a lesson that day.
 Bullies are cowards, 
and they always run away when "Mama" shows up.

Steve also learned a lesson.
"I've got your back bubba!"