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By Katherine Johnson
April 10, 2023

My legs hurt today,
From what I did,
Walking five miles
Along the Rio Grande
Hard, until I broke out
In a full sweat.

It is how l live now,
How I play Russian Roulette
When I wake up in the morning
Every day is an empty chamber,
I load with the one bullet
I have left, my heart.

I push it, is this the day
When it will explode?
Something I ignore
As I push on until
I fade into a dream state:

That road runner ahead
Twitching its tail,
Is it a secret warning
That the homeless guy
Ahead with the propane tank
And bike is a danger?

That I haven’t talked
To my son in a month,
How would he react
if I was murdered
For my fitness watch
In spite of being warned.

A Mustang convertible, top down
Cruising to Palacio’s in Mesilla
Where a bartender,
Ruben, black bearded,
Hits on the young women
Who comes and go

That I stopped missing Puget Sound
Years ago, it seems, but I don’t know,
These things creep up on you
Until you don’t care anymore
And are envious of life here,
not being born in New Mexico.

And now at the Spotted Dog,
drinking strong beer
out in the sun, sweating again,
I am glad that my legs hurt,
That I can still push on,
That my heart still beats.

Copyright 2023 By Katherine Johnson – All Rights Reserved