I Gave Up Chaos by Rachel Mallalieu

I Gave Up Chaos

In front of our house, crocuses erupt in a riot
of purple and yellow. For Lent, I gave up

chaos—the pervasive violence
of blue light.

Instead, I soak in the glow
of our grow lamps. In the basement,

tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers unfurl their fuzzy
heads. We are enlarging the garden this year.

When my fingers itch to flick between headlines
proclaiming wreckage and ruin, I will plunge

them into bread dough and shape our next meal.
And when that voice bleeds through the radio and TV,

I will attend to my children, who are still young
enough to laugh in the future’s face.

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Rachel Mallalieu is an emergency physician and mother of five. Some of her recent work is published in Chestnut Review, Whale Road Review, Rattle and Westwind. Rachel is the author of the chapbook A History of Resurrection (Alien Buddha Press 2022).