You get to the point where you think, I’m ahead -
I’m sticking to the exercise plan.
The covered patio is repaired,
the fishbowl is clean,
the lawn is mowed -
And there is a charge that you get
maybe a half dozen times
in your life. You’re on top of things.
It lasts about five steps before you remember
that you haven’t changed the oil
in more than four months, and you realize
that maybe this is as close to being on top of things as you will come
because no matter how hard you work
something’s always overdue -
a library book,
a video,
replacing the air conditioner filter,
painting the house,
saying ‘I love you’ to your children,
calling your parents,
cleaning the refrigerator,
buying new shoes,
writing a poem.

Originally published in Apple Valley Review (Spring 2006)
Used with the author’s permission.