The Daily Grind

The Daily Grind

I crawl out of bed
incessant alarm blaring
at the break of dawn

Hours grind by slowly
hunched over the computer
endless to-do list

I’m working to live
or am I living to work
retirement evades

Taking my chances
my feet moving with purpose
but I’m getting tired

Driving in the dark
losing myself in music
my evening commute

Now I see the light
at the end of the tunnel
that beckons me home

I walk through the door
greeted by you and the cats
my troubles dissolve

Too late for dinner
you pour me a glass of wine
we fade into night

When the morrow comes
as long as you’re by my side
my life is complete.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
April 8, 2023

Hello! I will try to keep this relatively short (for me). I was kind of stumped this week with the prompts, but it might be that I’m getting very fatigued, as my poem indicates. I decided to just use the haiku series format to let my feelings flow. The title sounds like a coffee shop, doesn’t it?

It’s tax season, and once again Dan and I are both working extremely hard. Or at least it feels like it – probably has something to do with our age LOL! It doesn’t seem as if retirement for either of us is likely in the near future. We both truly believe in keeping our minds active and having a purpose, but there are days when I am just SO tired. (Of course, it could be that I have not had a complete day off since January 1.) We both love what we do, and I guess that is what keeps us going. I love my job, my clients and my company makes me feel valued and appreciated every day. I am grateful for the flexibility to have a hybrid work schedule and for the first time in a long while, I am being paid fairly.

Most of our friends that are our age have already retired. We can’t really imagine that, with the state of the economy and how our 401K funds have taken a major slide. Though I would love to retire and travel, we simply can’t risk doing that just yet. I don’t honestly know how long I will hold out before deciding to retire. Time will tell.

The good news is that I am taking off the entire weekend for Easter. I have all my siblings coming to our home for the holiday, and I have preparations for Easter dinner and a Capitals-Panthers hockey game tonight, which will be fun. I can’t wait to see everyone Sunday, as it has been a very long time since we’ve all been together. Wishing you and yours a Happy Easter or Passover, or whatever you celebrate!

xoxo Colleen

Mood: Tired
Inspiration: “I’m So Tired” by The Beatles (love John Lennon’s voice!)

Blogophilia Week 40.14 Topic: Chances Are…
Hard Bonus: Include a mode of transportation without wheels (Feet)
Easy Bonus: Incorporate a list

Beyond the Spanish Moss

Beyond the Spanish Moss

Scrub pines and banyans beckon
bedecked with Spanish moss
lazy cumulus clouds drift free
across the periwinkle horizon.

Fiery sun rises opposite the moon
its early morning heat blazing
as the dragonfly silently hovers
alighting on dew drenched lily pad.

The blue heron turns, unblinking
lifts long delicate wings in flight
gliding gracefully across the bay
and the seagulls are calling, calling.

The wind is shifting as waves crash
and there’s a white mist blinding me
tears trickle, my world shifts and tilts
I feel my heart being pulled homeward.

Shall I cling to you like Spanish moss,
move in tandem with balmy breeze?
Might my lips burn like the August sun,
and make the heat rise within you?

Soon our arms entwine and lift in flight
as we soar across the azure sea
sailing far beyond Spanish moss
ascending past the stars into eternity.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
July 11, 2021