Poem for the family

I had to write this for the kid-lit class that I am taking:

Alone but All Together

In the drippy winter streets outside, amidst the traffic drone
The crowds are all together but each person is alone.

A home can be a fortress in February weather.
Inside, each child can be alone but also be together.

“Kidnapped” little Gwenny is reading by the stove
Heating vent for island, her cozy pirate’s cove.

Bredon punches paper keys in his play-office scene
Flashing magic answers on a cardboard screen.

Madie’s in the basement spinning a bicycle tire
Twirling on a pediment, suspended by a wire.

Upstairs in her bedroom, Rosie paints a scene
Of Callie on the carpet in oranges and green.

Callie’s stretched out on the floor surrounded by scrap papers
Drawing a dragon window-washer flying by skyscrapers.

Ben’s souping up monopoly from mono to quad
Playing four boards on the floor boards; a Parker Brother’s god.

Sammy shoves toy dinosaurs to the front hall stair
Manipulating mountain steps in Jurassic alpine air.

In the drippy winter streets outside, amidst the traffic drone
The crowds are all together but each person is alone.

Our home can be a fortress in February weather
Inside, each of us may be alone, but we are all together.

J. Clay