Every Strong Point Is Balanced Poem by Margaret Alice

You claimed
my cold-blooded
Crocodilean mess
put us far below
normal living standards
with Scorpion tenacity
you insisted over and over
the house is unfit
for human habitation

At first I parried
your vengeful attack
but only when I had lost
all my joy, trust
and self-confidence
did you temporarily stop
berating me and the Croc-kids
with justified anger
and disgust: How
can anyone hoard
boxes and boxes
of old clothes
books and toys?

I don’t know
the children enjoy
playing with things
I can’t keep control
of anything
I’m not a strict disciplinarian…

Can’t you accept
that every strong point
is balanced by
shortcomings too? -
I’ve lost my joie de vivre
after your latest
stinging attack…