The Impatience of Ordinary Life It is a kind of fear, is it not? How the day holds promise How the dawn insists that we begin, How the dew dries before eggs and oatmeal Are done. How the list in my hand knows Where I’m supposed to be. I’ve been resisting this impatience Of ordinary life, how tasks Shriek ruthlessly from my cell phone And email overflows my inbox, And unending demands Seduce my common sense. And the surprising joy of solitude. And what is more generous than our breathing? (after “The Patience of Ordinary Things” by Pat Schneider)