after words

i let go of
needing every
second to be
accounted for.

my mom was
full of ‘you
never knows’
and ‘what if
tomorrows?’

that was her
bank, not mine.

i had no
purse to
hold that
hopeful
change in.

as i paid
attention
to my small
relationship
with my dad’s
present the
focus softened.

the facts did
not.

the edges fell
away and we
came to share
a single point
checklist.

what was in
front of us
was all that
was needed.

my worry for
tomorrow was
depleted to
a flat line.

i was there.
he was there.
that was all.

Categories: poetry