I’m not sure why Mr. Carroll can’t breathe

Or why Ms. Green won’t eat

Maybe he has an infection and she has no teeth

There’s a knot in my left shoulder blade

A gremlin on each shoulder spewing all the reasons I should be afraid

A patient says hi to me in the grocery store

My in-box fills up like a rain barrel in a thunderstorm

The complaints come in

Moral dilemmas run me thin

My posture, my identity is losing form

But as we walk, my husband says it’s not that serious

Get a Monday morning job – one you can’t wait to get to

Life’s not that mysterious

Seven to three-thirty

Then after work, bob to the gym and frozen yogurt, you and me

You can learn anything, it can’t hurt

Do something exciting

While our lives are burning

A drizzle begins

Mr. Carroll lights a cigarette

Ms. Greene seeks out meth

The weight of the world is not on my shoulders

My positive self-talk robs the gremlins of their breath

I walk in the middle of the road with my husband by my side

God all around me

Righteousness on one sidewalk, wickedness on the other

The sun peeks out

I don’t look to hide

But to run toward something, no doubt

I’m not looking for expediency

I pray for Mr. Carroll and Ms. Greene

Stand tall as we all talk

Walk on, walking to run

Under the sun so bright

It comes and goes – a little slower tonight

I’m making a move as I get old

Wiser

On a summer solstice stroll