A Day Off

I’ll remind you,
                  if you’ll remind me,
that it’s okay
to sometimes simply
stay in bed,
instead of showing up
in person.

Be careful not to linger
where the rules
of how you must be,
and how you present,
have no wiggle room.

Personal days and bereavement leave
come from a place of abundance,
where patience and empathy
have purchase.

Forty or fifty years ago
something changed.
We turned away from each other
                  and inward.

Now the wind is colder,
the days a bit darker,
and the colors have all faded.

The soul knows
what our minds cannot admit.

Sometimes we just need
                  a day off.

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This poem was written on December 4, 2025.