i too shrugged,
atlas.

carpools
play dates
stem in between
piano lessons in too tight shoes
carelessly dangling below
exposed ankles
yes, i too shrugged, atlas.

in this house full
of dust and the distinct
smell of animal musk
stepping over fur balls large
enough to be named
animated at sunrise
yes, atlas, i shrug.

meetings meetings meetings
in the morning and
in the evening all with purpose
but to no end
from confrontation
to negotiation to documentation
was it really three weeks ago
when that promise I made
yes, atlas i shrugged.

too tired to rise
a regular at
bedside baptist am i
friendships neglected but all
those papers are corrected
ready set lecture at hand
oh, the page number doesn’t match
and that email was missed by a margin because
because i too shrug, dear atlas.

crab grass is grass
organic is so overrated
i’ll eat my blackberries
like the civilized in cellophane
never mind the price monsanto
who’s that, no i didn’t read the
label all these directives on being
conscious too selective and
so i shrug, atlas.

walks in the park
luxuries for the leisure
this life so full it bursts at the seams
like a dollop of butter over
too much bread
worry grows in proportion to
my waistline proof that
i too shrug, atlas.

loud and raucous
laughter grows masking
stifled screams of the me
who shrugs in the darkness.

every “i “is not dotted
“t’s” go uncrossed
decades at a time
in the aftermath of the tsunami
that is the forsaken tasks mounting
i sit amidst this life, thinking only of
atlas who shrugged.