you wear cut off jeans and a stained looney tunes t-shirt
matching the stained faces of your sleepy toddlers
you drag to wal-mart at 11 pm
to buy wonder bread and mayo
and check the ATM
to find
the man of the house
drained your account
on beer again
you at least can balance the checkbook
even though you dropped out of school
when you were 17
you at least don't drink away
your re-occurring nightmares
of your uncle molesting you
every day at 4:30
Oprah is a loyal friend
it makes you cry because
for half an hour you feel like
you are not alone
in your cigarette smoke filled single wide
with your flea bitten mutt
and bills piled to the roof
they say Jesus will never leave you
but don't bother to ask
if your kids are fed
or treated right
or where that bruise on your left arm came from
or that hollow look in your eyes
