Refrigerator

They say that

the doors we are presented with in life

are the first checkpoints to tiers of lessons

we’ll need to survive,

and it’s funny how I’ve started feeling the same way

with the refrigerator door -

the way I no longer swing it open

for the cold bowl of grapes I thought I needed,

but for the carton of milk

I’d pour into my children’s bowl of cereal,

before I stumble upon the bottle

of my mother’s favourite fruit juice

and I’d wonder when

I’d get to share it with her again -

the longing hurts, I wish I could store that hurt

and all my other worries

into the coldest part of this refrigerator

hoping they’d freeze over,

but instead,

I shall pour myself a refreshing bottle

of life lessons.