almost a holiday

it's a rain day.
an almost holiday where
I plan
to get the oil changed,
to kill
that orange light
on the dashboard.
i'll visit my
mother
in her bed in the senior
hospice
facility an hour away.
i'll go hold
her hand. now bones
and veins.
stroke her white hair.
tell her things
she might like to hear
me say.
i'll shed tears,
light a candle,
then drive home
in the light rain, on
a day that's almost
a holiday.