This Week's Poem l Confession

Last night, I ate a soup bowl of ice cream
with butterscotch sauce. My basement 
is full of trash I paid too much for. 

I did not love my mother
and though I loved my father
I did not please him.

I take naps. For fourteen years
I couldn't forgive my ex-husband,
only hardened my heart.

My drawers are a mess. 
I own too many shoes. 
I don't give much money away. 

There are light bulbs I ought to replace. 
I don't understand foreign policy. 
I've let my languages slide. 

I throw out the mending. 
Sometimes I pretend 
to care, to listen, to be working. 

I read stupid mystery stories,
criticize. Also the dog
does not obey me. 

From Earth, Mercy, published by Louisiana State University Press, 2013