The Aide, by Mark Tulin

––The Aide––

I push my client
to the dollar store,
change the bandage
that covers her open sore
I cook her microwave meals
and clean the fish tank,
put her to bed at night,
and read her a book
before she falls asleep,
making sure her head is propped,
and her blistered feet are covered
so she won’t catch a chill

This I do to pay the rent
in my humble abode,
for a loaf of white bread,
for my family to share,
a modest car I drive to work,
to help a disabled woman in need,
to cure the ills of those
that society has left behind,
to lend a helping hand
for a woman who would be lost,
and to make my days go by
with a clear state of mind.

Much thanks to In Parentheses for publishing The Aide and three of my other poems. Featured image by Elmer Cañas on unsplash.com.