Coping

By John I. Blair

One way I cope
At getting through the day
Is having projects to anticipate.

Even if they’re trivial
Like topping off the gas tank
Or shopping for some food,

They gift me goals, reasons
To move onward
Instead of sitting here in darkness.

Giving up on groceries
Is giving up on hope, on love;
I’m not ready yet for that.

So I make a list,
Find a date, a time,
And set a course for market,

Confessing to myself
That lifting up a plastic sack or two
Is a modest kind of heroism.

©2018, John I. Blair, 1/15/2018