a moment in the day: waiting for the water to boil

I stand in the kitchen making morning coffee. Try to push the background hum of existential dread out of the ears of my mind. 

I wonder if it’s buzzing in there so loudly this morning because of my loved ones who are sick or hurting, or my Monday-morning dentist appointment, or the world or the world or the world. 

I glance at the clock to see how old I am.