I was so inspired by Fran’s Relax slice, and I’ve been trying different versions on my own. But, it’s hard! Today I read a lot of people’s March Slice of Life wrap up slices, and I thought … what if I did a wrap up Relax slice? It might seem depressing … but the cool thing is that I’m still standing! Here’s my try, from my month of slices: Relax. It’s March (Soon Enough, It Will Be April)
Relax.
It’s March.
Things are going to be bad.
You will realize you have been wearing the tag
on your shoe in public. It will make you laugh,
and write. You will be angry about things you can’t
quite publish. You will know you will never be
as unf***withable as your friend was. Noticing things
all month will become an issue. There won’t be any
paper towels or plastic garbage bags at your airbnb
and you will sob saying goodbye to your daughter. You will continue
to parent teenagers. An honor, for sure, but also so tiring
being a punching bag. You will go to Home Goods and
realize that death is just around the corner, and you will
not practice your therapist’s advice in order to pause that
catastrophic anxiety. The SATs will come and go. Your son will
curse at his computer screen while practicing. This will make
you feel, once again, like a bad mom. Your kids will roll their eyes
at you. A lot. Spring break will end, and all the poetry you write
will not stop school from coming in like a lion. Even your dog
will be embarrassed by you, although he is an old man, not a teenager.
The world of education will continue to go mad, citing research
that the powerful cherry pick. Meanwhile, you will go in and out
of classrooms finding joy but not realizing you should
have been paying attention to how the teachers took
lunch count. It will warm your heart to hear your cat play,
but she will be alone without her cat brothers which will
break your heart. People will be scared to voice their opinions,
and you will feel like a storm is coming. You will worry
that more things will be thrown out with the bath
water. Your dog will get sick which you won’t write about, because
ew, gross. You will try to remember that it won’t be winter
forever but anxiety will take hold as you wait
for a meeting. You will try to spend your energy thinking
about little joyful things. You will realize almost nobody
can be trusted, and that fumbling through
new things is in your future. A glass will get stuck in your
garbage disposal. You will lose faith, but you will always have poetry,
which will help you march on. Undappled won’t be the word you
want it to be. There will be too many questions in your head, and
you will search for answers. You will be reminded of betrayal, as if
you need to be reminded. Your filter will disintegrate,
and you will stop watching your face, but your connections
will just keep growing. You will be proud of your kids, even
when you have to use google translate. The Easter Bunny won’t
leave jelly beans on the piano, but there will be
a scavenger hunt for the teenagers, and then there will be
a quiet Sunday afternoon. Soon enough, it will be April.
On a Thought 
This is an exquisite way to wrap up this month of slicing! Thank you for sharing this. My eyes misted at “saying goodbye to your daughter” and I chuckled at you not writing about your dog being sick – so many emotions to conquer in order to ‘relax.’ I look forward to reading more from you on Tuesdays! Happy end of challenge!
This is a perfect wrap up. Did you keep notes along the way about your writing? I have no idea what I wrote this month. LOL
What a great way to wrap up the month! I really enjoyed your choice to write this poem in second-person, and it was fun to hear about your month as a whole.
In a word: Amazing! First, as creative archive for your Slices, and secondly, as a poem itself! It works beautifully to frame the challenges of life as well as the process of writing/slicing them. There are many lines I love; this I, think, is my favorite: “You will lose faith, but you will always have poetry, which will help you march on” – so , so true – and the one on not writing about the dog being sick, because it’s hilarious. I can imagine that writing this felt so good…even if bad things happen, which we all certainly know, we find our way. In this case – we write our way! It is so fun to see what you did with the form! You’ve not only made it through the SOLSC but you have done so with true flair and craftsmanship. 🙂
Ona, you are a brilliant writer, and this poem is no exception. I have learned so much from you, and have loved joining you on this writing journey! Thanks for all of the inspiration.
I love your thinking and your writing. I wish you the best in the next few months as your job situation hopefully settles into something that will bring you joy.
I also hope this comment shows up, because every blog I’ve commented on recently just eats my comments.