Poem: The Need

It took twenty-four years to get over it.

Still I remember when it first occurred--
The sky was as pink as a milkshake,
thick and soft and as
I walked up the long, gray stairs
my heart was thick and dull,
and I didn’t know why.

I’ve used you all these years
to fill up the bitter space
to push away the pettiness:
I wanted that and that and that.

You’ve filled me well and delivered me much.
You’ve pushed and pushed and pushed,
and though the envy remains, it is calmer.
Still thick, still soft, sometimes bitter
but no longer, after twenty-four years, so pink.