Parenting

No, I don’t have 
children.

I have to talk to strangers
about step five,
now

twice a week-
Sunday and 
usually Tuesday.

Wednesday and Monday,
I need to 
tie my hands to a chair

so I can scream 
into the waste-bin
without breaking it
again.

Thursday-Saturday
I try to pray, though
I know they’re the
wrong days.

If I were a parent,
I’d have no more time
for self-serving
behavior.