How do you carry

so much from day to day and
what do you do when you need

to put it down to hold
your head in your hands or
make dinner or rake leaves

or pick up the children
from school; how do you keep
from breaking or just

breaking into tears
or throwing balled-up socks
against a wall instead of

clearing and putting away; how
do you live with yourself when you
don’t know how to take care

of ailing family overseas
that you haven’t seen in years;
how do you weigh the cost of

a plane ticket versus
the rate of currency exchange
in a third world country and

how much of other things that
same amount might buy; how
do you keep the body’s

reflexes from dulling, you
from wanting to curl into a ball;
but then the alarm won’t stop

ringing in your ears until
the covers come off and you rise
again into another day of carrying

and holding, lifting and bearing,
resting and putting down when
your arms and heart are tired.

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