Perpertually late

a flash poem written by me!

Hello from an unseasonably (and delightfully) warm Kansas City.

talk about a good vibe

Yesterday I attended the monthly poetry group in the senior living community where I work. I am always so grateful for the invitation and love hearing their selections and especially their own writing.

Somehow as we were getting started, the subject of punctuality came up. I made a joke and one of the residents said, “That sounds like the start of a poem.”

Well, I took on the challenge, even though I don’t write poetry very much. It is my offering to you this week. I hope you enjoy it!

---

I try to be punctual
but I have two children
who won't put on their shoes.
At least, that is easier to say in public
than to admit I am simply, embarrassingly,
perpetually late.

In poetry group, a room of people 
all twice my age
laugh when I say the joke about the shoes.
When I say "I hope one day 
I will be like you," less worried about being on time,
One offers, "Don't worry about it,
just be it."

I am tempted to feel offended.
After all, it isn't my fault.
It's the shoes, remember?
And anxiety? Naturally, we are well acquainted.
So I try to release the fear of judgement
when I walk in a room
a few or several minutes past eight.

It is not really the shoes. I know that
and I suspect they do too.
It is me, choosing to lie in bed a little longer,
feeling my cat on my chest, my daughter in my arms.
It is me, anticipating a long day and
savoring the quiet of a new beginning.
It is me, being kind to my mind,
willfully not waking early enough 
to avoid rush.
It is me, choosing rest.

So maybe we are late due to the shoes
and the many reminders to put them on feet
in the final ten minutes
before we hurtle out the door.
But maybe, we too, are comfortable
with this dynamic of being a family
that is willing to rush,
knowing that it is a worthy expense
of being a family that cuddles
in the quiet, early light.

As it turns out,
that is something I can not worry about
and just be.

---

This week I enjoyed a lovely coffee from Chambre Coffee in Westport. What a cute place!

Back next week with more.

Love to you,
Janette