I Do

This poem was inspired by the quote below.

If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
                -Regina Brett

I Do

They threw gasoline
Onto the pile of problems.

It soaked into the
Rejection letters of college hopefuls
And authors.
It streaked the pink slips
And the overdue mortgage payments.

It ran down the chin of the cheating boyfriend,
Tinting the boss’s new tie, and
Outraging the gossiper when it got in her hair.

It basted the burnt Thanksgiving turkey and
The bottle of sleeping pills
And diluted the flask of vodka.

It soaked into the broken heart
And the kidney transplant
And slid off the artificial limbs.

Underneath it all
Was that little box from Tiffany's.  
I knelt down and pulled it back out
Thinking that it wasn’t
Such a bad problem to have
And slipped the ring onto my finger.

Then the match was lit and
The smoke was thick and
Clung like molasses.