Necessities

I didn’t brush my teeth last night,

didn’t write a poem either —

daily necessities overridden

by the black rolling of roof underlayment

racing against darkness and the predicted rain,

and no motivation to cook by lantern light

and all the restaurants closed or far away

I didn’t write a poem last night

or brush my teeth either —

just crawled in bed,

but all is well —

everything is still here in the morning.

©Wendy Mulhern

September 22, 2019