Preparing for travel

Avoiding Packing

folding laundry
unpacking suitcase from my last trip
buying litter for Daisy
and training the babysitters.
going to the ATM and
calling the credit card companies,
buying sunscreen, insect repellent,
and other drugstore sundries,
a new toothbrush perhaps.
doing the dishes, making my bed,
turning the heat down and
cleaning the bathrooms and
emptying the compost on the counter.
a horror to leave behind a mess.
all this needs to be done
and yet I sit here and write
a poem, ignoring all the
tasks that need to be done
tomorrow.
Never mind that S. has
done all the endless hours
of planning the itinerary; buying tickets,
reserving hotel rooms, picking a
Spanish school.
Exhausting just to think about.

I think I’ll go to bed now

Photo courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2862029207/