Running

She runs to catch the bus to catch the train
To walk the ten blocks to the job she loathes
Where no one sees her but to nod and instruct her to have a good day
She runs to buy the lunch to eat too fast to get back
To the tiny desk in the endless grey of cubicles
From where her boss will call her once a year for a review
Of how fast she can run to complete the tasks for which
She is never thanked and no one knows her middle name,
She runs to catch the train, to catch the bus
To walk eight blocks to her apartment
Where the children wait for the food she carries
After running to the store and crossing fingers when she uses her credit card
For all the things they need and rarely for what they want
She runs to do the laundry and to iron the clothes,
Make the beds and sweep the floors,
She runs in her sleep in preparation for the years ahead.