This poem was the sixteenth written in my Poem A Day Challenge. You can read all the poems on my blog Wholeness4Love.

Covered in dust and sweat he came to the end of another demeaning work day.

Smiling when he had every right to frown, laughing when the joke was on him.

His hands blistered from the hard labor and his heart callous as well.

Each day he felt their sickness towards him take root deeper and deeper into his soul.

As he arrived home and walked through the threshold he felt like he was crossing over

from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light-

her light, her smile a balm to his soul.

He worked so hard to shield her from scrubbing floors and tending children not her own.

As she welcomed him home it all seemed worth it.

After the children were all tucked in she read Hughes, Angelou and Baraka to him.

As they lay in bed with his arms wrapped around her,

she administered this poetic balm and he was healed to go on another day.

Related articles

• Poetry Challenge Day 4: Healing Waters (wholeness4all.wordpress.com)
• Poetic Treat Tuesdays: A Young Poet In His 24th Year (meenarose.com)