This is especially for my writing colleagues who juggle multiple goals, roles, and responsibilities.  In the last scene, picture whatever god, goddess, muse or other comforter helps you get your balance back.

Return

Kitchen utensils return
each to its proper tray
like parents home
from work.  I celebrate
routine, but when
habit takes over,
hares in my head give
quick, thoughtless
answers.  My heart jerks,
a connection breaks.

The burn in the rug,
a dent made in the table
thirty years back
when a two-year-old
discovered a hammer
recall those absent.
I pour a glass of wine for
the kitchen god who sits
at the table with me
late into the night.

“Return” is included in my chapbook, The Map of Longing, (Finishing Line Press, 2009) available on Amazon, or inquire on the Contact page.

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