Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

The Good Daughter's Work

All morning I have been the good daughter.
I tackled dental bills and hospital bills,
fought with warranties and corporations.
changed the oil on my Volvo,
and turned away from the box of hot doughnuts
sitting in the customer waiting room.
I pumped on the bike at the ‘Y’
drove to the health food store
for brown rice and green tea,
said no to lunch with my lover,
negotiated tree trimming with a large burly man
the neighbors had working next door,
found a driveway repairman
to fix my cracks,
and called the painter to see when he was coming.
I did all of this while preparing lunch,
checking my email,
and watching the market to see how much money I’ve lost today.
Now that all of that is “done”,
I don’t feel any better.
I still have the blank page before me.
Staring at me.
I keep thinking that if I could just move to Portland,
or New York,
or Madison,
everything would be different.
But I would still have bills to pay,
and rude drivers,
and parents to worry about it,
and the blank page before me.
And no one can fill it
but me.