The Hard Way/First Good Day (from Lifesongs 7)

The Hard Way

It was a hot day today,
humid and sticky,
the lawn needs to be mowed;

it can wait.

I hate yard work,
I always have,
if it were up to me,
(and if I could afford it)
I’d have the whole damn lawn
covered in asphalt,
or better yet
I’d live in some
maintenance-free condo.

I always wait
until it’s just about too late,
when the grass is so high
the mower can barely cut it down,
but in the end
it always gets cut,
just like in the end
I always do the right thing,
it’s just the way I am;

but I like to push it
right to the limit.

She called today,
I didn’t know what to say,
so I didn’t say much,
she cried,
I felt bad,
I don’t think she’ll call again;

another one
who found out the hard way.

Maybe it won’t rain all summer,
and the grass will dry up and die
so I’ll never have to cut it again.
__________________________

First Good Day

It was the first good day of spring,
warm but not hot,
a mommy holding her little boy’s hand
while daddy puts his arm around their little girl
going for a walk kind of day.

Broke out the grill for dinner,
barbecued some chicken and a leftover
london broil,
felt the warm sunshine and light cool breeze
blowing softly on my skin,
it was the way a day should be;

calm and quiet.

Even some of the pain felt less,
but not completely,
warm sunshine and light cool breezes
are never gonna take that away;

completely.

She sat beside me as I wrote,
neither of us saying a word,
we never do and sometimes
that says a lot;

but not really.

Yes it was a very magnificent day,
it was the kind of day
on which a person could lay back,
take a deep breath and
die;

and feel very okay about it.
.
.