Security

security is a fridge full of food

plump grapes and crisp apples

remind me that I’ve come so far

the tub of dairy free yogurt for my son

tells me that, just for today,

things are okay

that we don’t need to worry about

having enough propane for the RV’s generator

or cry over $300 tickets for parking illegally at night

that I no longer need to grab my fabric bag

with ripped straps

and haul it to the nearest water fountain

to use my smallest water bottle to fill the empty gallons

that I don’t need to heat water in a kettle

to take a warm bath

and buy a pantry full of cans when I have money

stocking up for the days when I wouldn’t

the fresh cucumbers, celery hearts, and baby carrots

sitting in the vegetable drawer

sing to me to take it easy

in my temperature regulated, three story condo

with my queen size memory foam mattress topper

safely sitting behind the screen of my laptop

while my son goes to school in clean clothes

with a lunchbox bursting at the seams

no longer sharing a single bed that sits three feet from a toilet and sink

and a shower that doesn’t work

because the hot water heater broke long before I met it

so instead, our tub fills with trash bags of dirty clothes

waiting for me to find enough quarters on the ground

to make a trip to the laundromat worth the gas

I open the stainless-steel doors of the fridge now

and I stare at the abundance of edibles

knowing I have the time to think

the time to breathe

the time to just be