About Recovery (A Sestina)

She'd hit bottom and recovering
must come. In the clinic detox section
she fought back demons and faced the dilemma —
telling the kids. Maybe fascinating
stories of a handsome baron or about
Turks needing services she could volunteer?

No! Lies were out. But should she volunteer
the truth? She'd hid it, always. Recovering
from drugs was not enough. Her kids knew about
her "medications" though she'd tried to section
her life to protect them. Fascinating
how young they'd grasped her life's dilemma.

She'd lost a husband to the dilemma,
knifed him for suggesting she volunteer
for treatment. So he'd left. Fascinating
now how right his leaving seemed. Recovering
in the cold, sanitary detox section
clarified what past and future were about.

The truth be told, she didn't mind about
him. But their sons were ten and twelve, a dilemma.
She should be sitting in the cheering section
of Mark's softball game and ought to volunteer
for Joe's field trip. But she lay recovering,
safe. And clarity was fascinating.

How could she bask in clarity, fascinating
or not, and not do anything about
the boys? What was the use of recovering
without them. She had more than one dilemma.
Without them she might as well volunteer
for permanent residence in detox section.

But she couldn't stay on in this section.
Watching drunks and druggies wasn't fascinating
but disgusting. She'd better serve to volunteer
once through, but she must do something about
the boys. How could she call her sons a dilemma
and say the same about her own recovering?

The detox section was for her sons, about
them, not some fascinating abstract dilemma.
For them she'd volunteer to push on, recovering.