Entropy
You know that moment in movies
when the main character,
having spent day and night
chasing a murderer,
conquering demons,
saving lives,
comes home to their
high rise apartment
with its wall of windows
and stands,
drink in hand,
looking out over the city,
pondering?
Have you ever noticed
how that apartment
is so perfectly clean?
No sink full of dirty dishes,
no unmade bed,
no pile of laundry on the couch.
Who cleans that place?
Who pays the bills?
Who spends forty-five minutes
on hold with the insurance company
only to be disconnected?
Because, to be honest,
there are many days
I spend consumed
in these unglamorous
but necessary tasks.
It’s a truth about adulthood
that nobody ever told me,
one about which
I never warned my children.
The only demon I am conquering
is entropy.
The only thing I am saving
is this tiny household
from drowning
in debris and paperwork.
Which is why, I suppose,
there is no camera crew
following me around
and why I watch movies
about a fantasy world
where characters live free
from real life details.
By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith
Ah, but you conquer demons in your mind while you make the bed and wait on the phone, because you are the poetess….
So true. It makes me laugh (now) when kids say they can’t wait to grow up so they can do what they want.
I was on hold with a Company once and they kept telling me to hold on which I did and did and did. When the clock said 4:30, the message changed to their operating hours and to call back. GRRRR
I also left message after message at some business. They called back and left another number. When I called that number I got a message that I couldn’t leave a message.
Yes, adulting is not what it is cracked up to be.
The fantasy still lives on though.
Ha- so true- have to Zen it through:)