Refrigerator

They say,

the doors

we are presented with

in life are the first

checkpoints

to tiers of lessons

we will need to survive

and it’s funny how I feel the same way

about the refrigerator door –

the way I no longer swing it open

for the cold bowl of grapes I thought I needed

but for the carton of milk

I’d pour into my daughter’s cup

of honeyed cornflakes

before I stumble upon the bottle

of my mother’s favourite cranberry juice

wondering when I’d get

to share it with her again.

I wish I could store

this hurt

these tears

in the coldest corner of the refrigerator

hoping they’d freeze over

but instead

I pour myself a refreshing bottle

of life lessons.