
I learn from my toilet
That hate is a choice.
An unreliable commode
Is like a failing relationship.
It hits me at the gut level.
Between sobbing and a roiling bowel,
I’m in the bathroom for hours,
Desperate to depend on
The foundations
I am used to,
A toilet and a mate.
I consult with plumbers and therapists
Who dole out conflicting solutions.
I’m on my own.
The guest room lavatory regularly releases
A dark sludge
That looks unhygienic,
Not a good impression for company.
I stop using the commode.
Roto-rooter advises me the residue is
Algae or
Encrustation from my water softening system,
Not unlike my enabling,
“Softening” efforts with loved ones
That make me a milquetoast,
Allowing insults.
They don’t mean it, I tell myself,
A grand denial
That builds a brittle barrier
Of falsehood
Between me and others.
I take revenge on The Evil Toilet:
Name-calling,
A good solution for hatred
And self-loathing.
I’m ready to trash the porcelain basin.
But I hesitate
And flush an extra time.
The pause is a choice.
An hour later, I bathe the privy bowl again.
Every time I’m near
I keep the rushing rinse going.
Over the next month
The gunk of years lessens.
The debris is almost gone.
It’s not a bad latrine,
But it requires extra care.
Unlike my partnership
That needs the final flush.
He demands an agreeable woman
Who impresses visitors
And does not speak her truth
As I increasingly do.
My toilet teaches me
To stop using nasty labels.
Hate doesn’t work.
Instead I focus on good fortune:
My union gives me a
Magnificent son.
And bestows the courage to
Scope out personal landscapes,
To find what needs flushing
In myself and others.

Real Life – Real Laughs:
Humor When You Need It Most
Cate Burns’ thirty-eight non-fiction stories of heartfelt humor explore society’s foibles and personal snafus with insightful zingers that will delight readers. Burns casts an unstinting, cock-eyed look at personal change, friendship, sanity and courage.
“Absolutely LOVE the descriptions in this work. Very, very, very clever and, dare I say it? -unique. This is refreshing, funny, inventive and delightful.” -Sharon Whitehill, Ph. D.