(bicam)

In the bicameral
demands of marriage
the pathetic jobs
fall to me,
because I have
so much experience.
I am good at groveling.
Hovering over
the yellow pad
of balances due,
shaving just
a little more
from my needs.
I scour my shoe
soles with Comet
trying to get
by.
When things
run out,
my skills
kick in.

I’ve never known how
to earn a living,
so I’ve had to know
other things,
to do without,
to wait.

He works hard,
harder than he’s paid,
but waiting
is not
his game.
He wants
what he wants
right now.

We are paying
now
for the sins
of our past
in many ways.

I’ll write
a book
of what not
to do
’cause that’s
what I know best.

A how to not,
listing
all the things
I didn’t learn
soon enough,
things I don’t
know still.
It will be
comprehensive
I’m sure,
complete
in its detail.

My one great
contribution,
which my
mother covered
much easier
with just a
quick
“do as I say
not ….”

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