dark days

the records fall silent for a time
and all they can find of me are
tallies of rations
3 cups of tea. 6 hours of sleep.
one sandwich.
30 pages of notes.
four goats. ten sheep.
five pens.
five pens.

This will be swep over: a dark age full of
we don't knows.

1 bag of cat litter.
3 bushels of wheat.
4 bananas
2 bottles of wine
a prayer to Venus -

But we know these stories -
lives rose and fell, families
came together, spoke with the gods,
married, died,
had parties
and lead days away in misery.

There is food in the house,
but something else is empty;
I'll have to remarry,
just to feed the children.