When he is gone
When he is gone
I will leave the twist tie off the bread
leave the leftovers on the stove til bedtime
put flowered wallpaper in the bedroom
sit outside and howl at the moon
When he is gone
I will create my IRA
squirrel money away for a rainy day
pick my expenses
sit outside and howl at the moon
When he is gone
I will let the kids make noise
crawl in bed with me after the bad dream
serve macaroni and chicken nuggets at every meal
sit outside and howl at the moon
while the children catch lightening bugs
And the bugs will light our way
and the stars will give us hope
and our noise will tell us we are not alone
Chaos
Chaos
Flowing letters tucked on the back of the wrist
where the blood flows
seeking its way back to the heart
the pulse of the arteries hidden
buried deep
A reminder of the world
A reminder of the things we can’t control
An acceptance of what is
Everything inside and out
Chaos
There is more to me
There is more to me than this
than waking up to do all the dishes
cleaning the house
paying the bills
and trading the work of my hands, arms, back, and legs
for just enough to just cover the bills
stopping the dreams
there is no money for dreams
no vacations
no travel
only work
and worrying about money
and bills
and healthcare
Anything that is more
got shoved under the reality of life
and the dishes, and the bills, and the work