Expectations

Lists of things to do, the stage my life plays out on

Acts follow one another, without intermission

Bloated or lean, old or new, revised or abandoned

It is all there, the toil of me, the agony of performing

 Perfecting, botching, on occasion completing

Endless entries, scaffolding decades

into facades of decorous accomplishments

The art of managing expectations,

last but not the least of lists