Slow Return

There were two pills
I chose the one
That I could split into fourths

I walked from the store
Feeling a slow return
to connection
Shaking from my head a dream of the city
In the morning cold
And walking past the wood
where my children and I
removed and recycled
for no reason at all
the absence of distraction
paying off at last

And my black cat buries its head in the small of my arm
and purrs
And I close my eyes and finish the poem
good horse
that I am

I will pick her up and put her on the bed
where she will slowly pace herself into her favorite dream
of sun on her fur
and Ignatz the mouse
finally convinced
that this is her house

Unless I move the furniture
which of course I choose not to do
until a woman comes
because I will have to do it all over again
lesson learned
from long marriage
and houses that have become a home