Expiration Date

You sit opposite
the man behind the desk
- he is short-
- so is the desk-
you sit opposite him
in his white lab coat
you sit across and you wait
for him to pull a number
- and you wait-
like a rabbit from a hat
like the lucky powerball
- you wait-
- for the expiration date-
years of sad
- gone-
- and you wait-
years of happy 
- gone-
- and you wait -
holding your breath
between heart beats
- you wait-
- for the expiration date-
all through your life
- you wait-
all through years and symptoms
accusations and assumptions
-you wait-
you ponder having magnets made
to give away
- you wait-
to friends and family
the ones that say-
" save the date"
- and you wait-
and they should finish with
" today is the day"
and you fill in the blank
- with your expiration date-
or maybe
count down the days until
like Christmas
- and wait-
shoot off fireworks 
at your wake
- you wait-
til the man in the white lab coat
assigns you an expiration date
- and then again- you begin- to wait-




~ M. Sneed