August 10-B, 2022

My wife and I
are treading boiling water
between Scylla and Charybdis
amid the heaving waves
and clashing rocks
of the wine-dark sea,
awash as we are
in the nightmare
of selling/buying houses
and moving 18 minutes
closer to our children
because age is limiting 
our ability to tend and care for
two floors, three bathrooms,
yard and landscaping,
and downsizing sounded
like such a good idea
in the halcyon days of lore.

Well.
It's different when you are doing it
and not merely talking about it.
Moving will not just rock your world
and give you an order of the day
and a schedule of things to get done
that have nothing to do with 
how things were done just yesterday,
it will also disorient you on every level
and leave you with only breathing to count on.

And I forget to do that occasionally.

So, I recommend giving yourself completely
and unreservedly to the process
and doing what you are told,
trusting that one day you will pop up
on the other side
and be glad to be there.

Trying to hold onto anything
you once knew and loved
is not going to help you 
with the transition to a Bold New World.

They tell me I am three months away
from normal and customary.
But, I do not believe them.
I'm just a cork on the water.
Counting breaths.

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