CELL BLOCK 21

The baby
was asleep
I was trying to
write a poem
a little oasis in
the misery
It began:
My feet are 
incredible
My toes like 
tentacles 
of some highly
evolved beast
I identify
the culprit
instantly
A formally 
wet Cherrio 
I'd say now 
dried about 
a week
Hmmm, I 
believe this 
would make it
one of those 
cinnamon ones
as we've now
switched back to
the multigrain...
But then my wife
yells my name
I knew exactly
what it was
"UGH, HIS SOCKS
DON'T MATCH!"
I hear her footsteps
pounding up the stairs
I walk over to my
little boy who is
sitting on the bench
She comes down

with the correct sock

"It's just the stripe,"
I say. "I don't
understand, they're
both black. It's really
not a big deal!"
"It IS a big deal, he's
going to SCHOOL!
It makes me look bad!
It makes me look
like I don't care!"
My little boy looks
up at me, frowning
"You're a bad daddy!"
he says. "Henry, we don't
say that," she says,
and I hear him mumble
it again under his breath
She had his shoes
on now and was
putting on his coat
I really should've left
it at that but what I say
instead is this: "Ya know,
that says a lot about you
if that's something you
think is important."

She comes back in
after slamming the door
"You also forgot to
put him in a Pull-Up!"
And then she slams
the door again

It's not easy trying
to salvage a poem
It's not easy doing
anything anymore
She came home about
15 minutes later
and because the
stakes are so high,
we both decide we'd
best make peace
And I gotta say,
I was impressed,
she was even able
to laugh about it a bit
I was back with the
poem when she sat
down across from me
"Hey," I asked her,
"how'd that go? What
was it you said when I
said that about the socks?"
"I don't know, I don't
remember. Why don't
we just do a reality show
about our fucking lives?"
"I'm not gonna put it on
Facebook. It's just a poem.
I'll just put it on my blog."
"Mmm Hmm."
"I promise! Let's
just start back with
the socks, when Henry
was sitting on the bench.
How'd that start? What'd
I say when you said that
about it being important or
a big deal or something?"
"I don't know, I don't remember.
Are you gonna go to the bank today?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna go to the bank.
Look, it doesn't have to be exact,
just use your imagination.
I thought you were an actress,
you're supposed to have
an imagination."
"I have milk leaking
from my tits! I don't
care about having
an imagination!"
And with that,
the baby awoke