by the time I was 20

I knew I wanted as few

obligations

as humanly possible

to clutter my adult life;

I didnt want a degree

I didnt want a career,

didnt care about

making money, getting ahead

I only wanted time to live

to be free

to read books and write poems

and be left alone.



now, at 30

I know that obligations

make up your adult life

and that every time I look

over my shoulder

something will always be waiting:

car insurance, registration deadlines,

electric bills, speeding tickets,

flat tires, bounced check fees, holidays,

phone calls to return,

broken TVs broken fillings broken hearts



sit on my couch

cup of hot tea

ashtray getting full on the coffee table

alongside my holy stacks of books,

notebooks, deep sigh,

brain temporarily unclenched,

ignoring the millions of

seething bubbling deadly

responsibilities.

Want to comment on this Poetry? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Poetry and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...