a day in the life

0515
I swing my legs off the side of the bed
tentatively so as not to wake him
I idle upstairs over unopened mail
0600
the black dog is waiting at the stairs
for us to go out; I see eyes open on the bed

we go out I stroll she sniffs we go home
and fill the bird feeder
and fill our tummies

atomic oxygen electrostatic discharge documents
and lunch out talking about new flute teachers
capacitance inductance and resistance
waveforms and flute teachers

1430
I lift weights in oppressive heat
in a garage with a young man
named Kelly

and then my eyes close for awhile
and the weeds are waiting
waiting waiting for me to hack them
and burn them and spray them until
I drop to the ground and they are
still standing

in the early evening when the black dog
stares at me and I grab the leash
and we swish through tall grasses and
look for mice
unsuccessfully

forgetting to eat
hungry
my flute calling out
granola baking
its darkness now

2200
its time.