ODE TO REST

let’s face it, there’s much to do in a day/ freedom comes with chores/checklists are forever freeways/ i mean look at the fridge/full of nothing /the stale laundry waiting for its bath/the dust keeps making babies/the dog is going hungry /hurry up he says/with his dark infant eyes/ & i know        the fear/ to lock eyes with the mail that piles up & up /un-open & unknowing of their motives to be a paper grenade/ or good news in black ink /or a hello from an old friend /but listen/ these things know how to sit & stay/ it’s ok to rest/ why else would the word be a word/ ressssssssssssssssst/ like the hiss of air escaping a flat tire/ air tired of being complacent /& simply dreaming to be with the birds/ i say be with the birds today/ nothing will implode if the dishes grow bored in the sink/ you will not cause the apocalypse if you order Chinese instead of heating up the oven’s mouth/you’ve been through some shit/ & survived some shit / you deserve the sun/ the sky is blue for you/ everything that moves & holds you up: knees  neck  spine/ & yes even the tiny hairs on your arm that keep you balanced & warm deserve a vacation/ to the Bahamas /or a walk in the park with  the trees/ giant beasts whose branches high five the clouds /to celebrate you/ you who drink up all the oxygen/ little presents for the lungs/ please know when you return back to crossing things off your list /you are worthy of wings / & when you are ready/ the windows are wide 

A LESSON IN RESOURCEFULNESS 

our parents who came from el otro lado got PhD’s in pinching pennies. birthed meals out of poquito. paid less for shoes at Payless. paper-mached their own piñatas. picked & saved old newspapers for cleaning supplies. cleaned windows with those newspapers & watered down windex. watered down our shampoo bottles, gallons of milk & dish soap to bless us with double. showed us how to make the wind bully the wet laundry toward dryness over the clothesline. locked our chip bags with clothespins. balled up grocery bags transformed to school lunch pails & duffel bags for travel. black trash bags cut into aprons, we girls wore after school to scrub our grass stained socks back to white over wooden washboards. Cool Whip & butter containers held our salsas, frijoles, ceviche, weenies con chile & pepino. old t-shirts turned new mop heads making Fabuloso spank our floors fresh. this, a lesson in how to traffic washingtons & jeffersons for plenty at dollar stores in exchange for Hot Cheetos & maruchan. cheap nail polish & Jack-in-the-Box. gold hoops & fake flowers that refuse to wilt in summer. a lesson our parents taught us on how to never to die.