18. Apple Picking

Life is more than work
more than horror, more than pain
more than chasing a buck and paying your creditors
on time in hopes of getting out from under.

Life is more than conflict -
though it certainly is that too - all the goddamn time,
more than striving, struggling, worrying, suffering, bickering.

Life is also your boy playing flag football,
your girl taking pictures of the boy,
your youngest saying "this is the best day ever" yet again,
spilling coffee in the car, picking apples, leaves turning yellow,
watching your kids on the seesaw, drinking new cider together,
a petting zoo, playing volleyball not very well
with your wife and two older kids while the littlest
sulks on the stairs with his face in his hands
wanting popcorn just as though it was
the most important thing in the world.

All this is life too, not all bad,
not even half bad
and precious.