the week
with the kids
is crashing
to an end
a week away
in waco then
a weekend of
chaos in virginia

still need to
figure out my
reading yet
alone whatever
i am supposed to
say about poetry
on the panel
need to finish
three stories
and unwind the
many tangled
anxieties like
creeping vines
strangling my
feeble heart

a bad time to
unravel at the seams
as i pick at the
threads hanging
from a patchwork
soul of hand me
down affections

thankful for
the brief moments
between storms
when i can nearly
breathe once more
beaten and battered
yet obstinate
to the core

i will
leave a
trail of
destruction
in my wake
a travesty
you’ll long
to deny but
are forever
helpless
to ignore