EKING OUT

Juanita Rey

Because my needs

are so painfully modest,

they leave my dreams

awkward and bewildered.

 

I pay the rent on time.

The grocery bill does not break me.

ā€œComformarseā€ ā€“

that should be the

embroidered sampler

pinned against my wall.

ā€œMake do,ā€ as

my neighbor Sylvia says.

But how do dreams make do?

 

On the job, I forget

what other jobs I could do.

My friends are just close enough

to leave no way in for others.

My time to myself

doesnā€™t stretch much beyond sleep.

 

I could have it a lot worse.

But since when

is that something to look forward to?

Juanita Rey is a Dominican poet who has been in this country five years. Her work has been published inĀ Pennsylvania English, Opiate Journal, Petrichor Machine and Porter Gulch Review.