switching to survival mode

I know how to survive, how to
stretch a few leftovers into more
how to add water to milk
to make it last one day longer…
when I was a girl my family lived 
in a motel with a kidney-shaped pool
a few steps away from the interstate,
from an underpass where others lived, 
who weren’t as fortunate as we
I know where to find pennies, 
enough buy fast food dollar meals,
how to barter for groceries,
taking care of someone else’s kid
so mine could eat, how to resurrect
hand-me downs to clothe us, sewing
squares of well-worn fabric into colorful
quilts to brighten our space, oh I know…

someone told me the other day,
you’ve done a lot of things in your life…
I have, I smiled…I wanted to say 
it’s called survival, but only other 
survivors understand that you do
the jobs no one else will do, building
experience and skills to gain 
a few more pennies, moving from job 
to job, several at a time, as time 
sifts through your life like sand.
i can make do and make work 
the crumbs and scraps of life,
things others toss in the trash
keeping us just shy of enough…
it’s been decades now…decades…

I still keep a jar of spare change
always at the ready just in case, 
I hunt for bogo sales at the market 
stocking my pantry with one extra
I keep clothes patched and useful
long after they’ve gone out of style 
and yet…and yet
I wake each morning grateful for the sun
and the rain, and this blessed life,
my greatest accomplishments are 
my children and their children and theirs

they say the tariffs will raise the cost 
of living for those of us who pay to live…I’m ready, though I wish we didn’t 
need to be…I know how to survive
in the best and the worst of times. 
as long as i can keep a pot of soup 
simmering, there will always be 
plenty enough to share and room for one, 
or two, or a few more at my table 
this is how we survive…together

much love, light, and glimmers to you…

~kat ✨✨✨💚💚💚✨✨✨