Lists
In the morning sunlight at a kitchen table
This extraordinary girl makes lists:
Sugar, milk, and eggs;
A red-hooded sweatshirt and a jumbo pack of gym socks;
Light bulbs, trash bags, and a mop;
Birthday presents, baby shower gifts, and get well cards;
Classes at the local university extension and a CPR class at the local Red Cross.
These are all the things an ordinary life requires.
Though dull and ordinary, she doesn’t mind the expenses.
Each is an investment that makes her life better.
One night in a darkened, lonely room, with twin rivers flowing down her cheeks
This now ordinary girl made a list:
A lost faith and a lost hope in human compassion;
A loss of the belief in true love and of the power of love to conquer all;
A thousand tears that never quite dry and stain a once beautiful face;
A tremendous sadness that she just can’t chase away.
These are the things she got in return for loving him.
Though extraordinary and unique, she does mind this expense.
How she wishes she could return the love she gave him for a better investment:
Some milk or socks or a CPR class.
