99%

99%

My morning dose of chlorine gushes from the spigot with a blast of cold water
toxic enough to turn the bottom of the bright blue sand pail used to wash the dog a faded canvas speckled with bleached out spots of white but nowhere near the fatal dose needed to immediately end my existence
The sputtering spray is adequately wet enough to scrub the night’s rest from my skin
Sufficiently warm enough in the morning chill to let me linger under the drizzle
Delaying my return to cooler than comfortable room temperature routine
Allowing me time to seize another quiet second to remember
I have achieved my dreams
How could I know those dreams would be so attainable
The nuns draped in black and white reality
Stressed possible goals for the likes of me
No need to reach for blue skies when concrete was already under foot
Target the likely instead of a maybe and ignore the perhaps
I have achieved my dreams
and life is good but it’s not amazing
Achievable goals are fine but they are always shy of amazing
And when those very possible dreams are in hand they are so lacking compared to any two hopes
perched on a high limb beyond reach but not out of my sight

this poem was rejected by Ploughshares 1/30/12

January 31, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: poem | Leave A Comment »