In trying to love this summer of extreme heat
I imagine accepting a good-natured but irritating
in-law staying indefinitely in my house.
One whose sensibilities veer wildly away from my own.
Whose voice is loud, whose laugh is grating.
One who takes the last cookie, drinks the last drop of wine.
Leaves the wet glass to perspire for hours on the antique table.
Who smokes. Who knocks things over completely by accident
apologizing profusely. Who breaks my grandmother’s glassÂ
while helpfully washing the dishes.
Who nonetheless has a heart of gold.
