this could be a poem
about failure
in love
my career or lack thereof
first female presidential aspirations
gone awry
i was born too late
to be joan of arc
or marie curie
it could be about divorcing twice
and how that precludes a third try
the way i’m not my father
or my mother
a sonnet about autism
what having twin teenagers
who live
inside an alternate reality is like
and the sudden image
of sissy spacek in carrie
when your parenting method
need be applied
stretch marks
grand addictions
bourbon goes in your mouth so willingly,
have you noticed?
panties fall off so easily
those two may be interconnected
student loans
shotgun wedding consumerism
single parent economics
fried green tomatoes
leading to an existential crisis
a closet full of pricey heels
and clutch purses
wishing they were
hiking boots,
sturdy jeans,
and pocket knives
it could be about some piece of shit
who dicked me over
or someone i put the screws to
being thoughtless
it’s funny the damage one can do
without even trying
in southern families
the way
needing a bassinet
is more tragic
than needing a casket
but it’s not
it’s not about any of that
this poem is about gratitude
for all i’ve been spared and given
this poem is the thundering cry
of one human
sent crashing skyward into stars
for god to exist
if not for me
for my loved ones and friends
this poem is about living to write this