Come What May
it’s night
it’s cold
it’s been
one
of the worst
days
of my life
but not the
worst
no, not nearly
lived through
way worse
than this
small
insignificant
thing
that had me
crying in the car
for hours
it ain’t easy
being
a woman
I’m going through
“the change”
a month in
and it’s been
an adjustment
I’ve never been
a sweater –
someone who sweats
I can workout hard
and not break a sweat
but now
all of a sudden
like overnight
like a blink
I sweat
for no reason
at all
it’s like a flush of heat
washes over you
and you become hot
so you crank the air up
or kick the covers off
or roll your face with ice
but you don’t stay hot
10 minutes later
you’re cold
so you put the seat warmer on
and pull the covers up
and feel your face
but you don’t stay
cold
10 minutes later
you’re hot
my hormones are
way out of whack
my emotions are
hot and cold
you feel tired
but can’t sleep
you forget
what
you were
just about to say
then realize
it don’t matter
anyway
nobody’s listening
nobody cares
they got their own
problems
so after one
of the worst days
where you jest wanna crawl in the bed
and go to sleep
the day’s not done
yet
there’s chauffer duty
there’s waiting
you do a lot of waiting around
when you’re a parent
of a teen
who needs a ride
to this, that and the other
so it’s night
and it’s cold
and it’s been
a long day
and I’m sitting there
in my car
with the seat warmer on
and the AC blasting
and I close my eyes
and I just wanna go to sleep
I’m emotionally drained
but I open my eyes
‘cause I can’t fall asleep
in my car
and in the corner of my eye
I see movement
it’s a cat
a beautiful colorful cat
that just appeared
next to me
I roll the window down
and speak to it
but it doesn’t understand
me
so I get out of the car
and course
that spooks him
and he disappears into the bushes
I look for food in my car
something to give him
but I only find water
so I go over to the empty can
of food
that somebody left him
and fill it with water
he was thirsty
then I go to a nearby chicken place
and get him some nuggets
and another cat suddenly appears
and at first
they’re not that hungry
‘cause they’ve already been fed
but as time passes
they drink all the water
and eat all the chicken
they’ve had two meals
today
and now sit on the sidewalk
content
their circumstances are dire
they live in a gutter
and hide in bushes
with traffic circling them
day and night
constantly afraid
and yet
they are content
with their little lives
‘cause they have each other
and that’s all
that really ever matters
in the end
it could have been
way worse for them
they could have tried
to survive
on their own
all a l o n e
TL