would, could, should

I thought my parents
would always be superheroes

I thought the recklessness
in the eyes of hungry boys
could be my salvation

I thought academia
should bring me
justice and fulfillment

eleven years after
my bachelor's walk;
ten years after
my parents' divorce;
six years after
an unthinkable loss--
I have stopped making predictions

let that bitch Time try
what she will.
I've made due with nothing

finding peace in small places

swallowing the future
like red wine