December 12, 2020
“The Work of Living”
I did the laundry
And took out the trash
While you did the dishes
And fed our children.
I thought to myself,
why,
this is the work of living.
It is as though my tired body
is connected to all those before me
For when I bend to task
I feel the shadow of thousands
Of millions
Of billions
Behind my back.
They rub my knots from my shoulders
Brush the sweat from my brow
And say to me
O, dear one
We have pushed through the barriers of time
To tell you
That you are not the first
To hold each day as a trophy
Hard fought and hard won
Knowing that tomorrow
It all starts again.
We are not so different, you and I
We
Have lived
The work
Of living