Member-only story
How to Survive a Really Bad Year
A Poem
It was the worst year of my life, but seven years later I am still upright.
Well, technically I’m in my office-bed under warm blankets,
Two dogs keeping me company with soft snores and thumping,
Sleep-happy tails.
How do we survive a really bad year? Four seasons of terrible loss?
We just do, because there is no better alternative.
In a single year, I lost the full use of my left arm;
My father-in-law to suicide; my husband to
Separation, then divorce; my community to
My sudden desire to outrun my unhappiness;
And ultimately, my career, due to circumstances
Beyond my control. What’s next? My hair? My teeth?
But my hair and my teeth stayed firmly in place,
And my dog was with me every step of the way.
Across four states and two different time zones,
He was the furry bulwark that prevented a mad dash
Into unsatisfying relationships with fallible humans.
I still remember a long night when I knew with certainty that
My really bad year would end. The clock would strike midnight,
And I would begin again with one step out onto the smooth dance-floor,
One twirl with a random…
