Since You've Been Gone (part 2)

Since you’ve been gone,

I’ve developed a passion for wine and

a recipe for split pea soup.

I’m sure you’ll take credit for both,

but the recipe is all mine –

and it's one thing I’ll never give you.

But hey…have some warm soup.

I have a laundry obsession

and I’ve let the garden go to seed.

I look past the cherry tomatoes

and around the heirlooms and asparagus

at my neatly organized loads of laundry

waving to me in the wind and I feel calm.

(You don’t have to weed tomatoes. They still produce.)

The lawnmower broke.

The refrigerator started weeping.

The air conditioner doesn’t cool.

The dishwasher discovered a new method

of washing dishes without water.

The dryer doesn’t dry, and

I forget to set the trash out on Tuesdays.

(I always forget…you were so good at remembering dates.)

I have color coordinated my closet,

added to my flip flop collection,

discovered the joy of lorazepam,

stopped using plastic,

started dancing again,

apologized to my children,

come to terms with me and

quit tending my flowers.

I can’t be your pension plan,

I’m still diversifying my quirks.