Make Lists

Like the classic to-do -

form A, signature B, bill C

collect laundry from the clothesline
(if it didn’t rain)

call the lawyer
(unless they call first)

remember that birthday card
(two months late)

And the weekly to-buy -

leeks from the Thursday market

new sheets for the bed

caulk for the kitchen sink 

cilantro seeds
(because the last ones died)

And ones with numbers -

18 story rejections this year

55 unanswered emails

27 explosions
(of thunder galloping through the canyon)

2 climbing routes summited
(in 30 degree weather)

34 sobbing fits in the closet in ’94

1 river rushing through
(it’s got somewhere to be)

And ones without - 

breath
(a gift)

holding on
(a skill)

sharp words
(muscle memory)

vastness
(everywhere)

And the ones where you pin your hopes -

six figures by ’27

the right figure by ’26

a knight and a castle

bougainvillea in the backyard

warmth in the hearth

poetry that was heard

being good
(or trying)

making lists
(and crossing things out)