I can tell it’s coming on
the painful walk to the kitchen sink
I do it without thought
and peel my gloves off
one finger at a time
Harlequin romance
dots on the horizon
“I miss you”
I say it and
mean it
I bend over
cleaning the tub
I notice and respond to
cascading spider webs
strung like Christmas
lights
feel better in reflectionskeep up with world events
listen when they talk
nicer to faces in grocery store lines
meaner to policemen up to no good
can tolerate the slowness of children
read the filthy texts about
you-know-what
all of them sitting there
waiting…”when it’s meant to be there will
be no anxiety”
he says