I have spent my life preparing for life
like setting a table for guests I haven’t invited
starched linen napkins, glowing candles
Boeuf Bourguignon simmering on the stove
like trying to lose ten pounds, sweating on a Peloton
going nowhere in order to fit into a size six
slinky clothes in the closet, tags hanging
sinuous moves in front of the mirror
but my too too solid flesh persists, belly sagging,
like an old porch, living on minor pleasures
strawberry licorice and creamy lattes
my last notes sliding off the clef
like leftover screws from an Ikea table
while I wait for life to begin
Claire Scott is an award winning poet who has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has appeared in the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, New Ohio Review, Enizagam and The Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and Until I Couldn’t. She is the co-author of Unfolding in Light: A Sisters’ Journey in Photography and Poetry.
