“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