the wall safe in the livingroom

i should have

written

down the combination to the wall

safe

behind the picture

of George Washington

over the mantle.

i can't remember it.

was it a birth date

of someone i knew, or my

own.

how could i have been 

so foolish

to not have written it down.

there's so much

money in there, cold hard

cash, insurance

papers,

titles to cars,

a passport,

my last will and testament

and

a few sexy photographs

of Betty in her bikini

when

we visited the Eastern Shore.

not to mention

an old recipe for pot roast

and one

for chocolate chip cookies

with nuts.

i pull over a dining room chair

and put my ear to the dial

like i've seen burglars do

in the movies.

click click click.

left right, right left,

around and around we go.

what am i listening for?

thankfully it comes to me

that there's a key too,

which can open the door.

i think it's in the kitchen,

in a plastic bag

where the batteries are stored.

maybe.

if not.

i have to go down to Home Depot

and buy a blow torch.