Survival

Weekends,

Wind-in-my-hair car rides,

Volume knob turned up so high

the music eats my thoughts --

these make me feel alive.

Swimming,

Lavender soap bar's smell,

Sun slanting through my window

and warming my shoulders --

these make me feel alive.

Cooking,

Niece's arms 'round my neck,

My neighbor's foster daughter

shadowing me like a sister --

these make me feel alive.

Bookshelves,

Scrubbing floors and toilet bowls,

A dinner date with my friend

over ninety years old --

these make me feel alive.

Weekdays,

9-5 I survive

at a desk in a cubicle

looking at a screen --

these let me pay my bills.

Entwined

are living and surviving;

My 9-5 lets me live

but my living

lets me survive.