For Free

a poem about reality

I will tell you this for nothing:
The infomercials and slick one-page ads
Are all true.

You can lose those forty pounds.
You can tone up those abs.
You can have a dazzling smile
While dressed in the latest designs.

But of course you won’t,
Even if you try,
And if you try it won’t be
Long enough or hard enough.

Something always gets in the way
Of the workout and the preparation
To skitter you off the rails
And back to the wreck of your life

Where the carpet collects stains
And the mold takes over the cold salad.

Better, I tell you now
To give up the fight
And allow yourself to just
Be
Yourself, who you are.

With three dogs running
Through the house skidding
On unwaxed floors
While the arch-backed cat hisses
Before storming off
To fray the rest of the sofa.

Marguerite Floyd is a writer, editor, poet, parrot person, and author of four books.