How discombobulating, when I lose
an item from my careful custody.
I seldom carry much – I check and choose
the minimum I need sustaining me,
and check again almost obsessively.
It wasn’t key, misplaced when shifting homes,
but half-denying mediocrity,
I can’t forget that paper with three poems.
We walked the cemetery’s length to find
the namesake fir that doesn’t stand alone.
One hundred eighty years have intertwined
the view above with legion leaves and tone.
An almost-arboretum now, a kind
of shelter for the beds of dust and bone,
we wandered grateful for the quiet shade
amidst old monuments that strangers made.
We had to talk about the money stuff.
The simple fact is more is going out
than coming in. The revenue’s enough
to pay for most but extra costs? We doubt
the value in small luxuries. It’s tough
to cut this fun and leave those pleasures out.
The gym is worth whatever you invest.
But others? Less is more and none is best.
I overhydrated on Tuesday last.
I had a blood draw per the doc’s demand.
Instructions said to undergo a fast
– not even tea or coffee their command.
I drank hot water as the hours passed
till I could bare my arm. That’s how I planned.
And yes, the draw was easy that I gave.
But after, I was micturition’s slave.
I start each day with mugs of coffee still.
I’m old, but it does not upset my gut.
My hand may quiver some, but I don’t spill
the liquids I convey. I’m happy, but
three times a year or so I have to still
the caffeine habit. I don’t get the what
or why, but fasting draw’s the protocol,
and headache brews to stymie morning scrawl.
The neighbor hung a feeder from his eave,
two storeys up and half a yard away.
He’s thoughtful and had reason to believe
no quadrupeds would dine on the array
of seeds and millet, yet our critters thieve
gymnastically. I heard the skritch today,
and looked up from my pruning task to view
a vandal snacking upside down, mid-chew.
I’m not sure that they loved the end result –
my rugelach is rich instead of sweet,
appealing more to taste that’s grown adult.
But kneading dough together was a treat,
their cream cheese butter fingers almost neat,
their questions and their consciousness employed.
The parents took in more than we could eat,
but true success is process well-enjoyed.
The lunch that I looked forward to was great:
good company, cool ambiance and food
so tasty I loved every bite I ate.
I after Muni’d west in lovely mood,
and just as fun as I’d anticipate
was baking with the grandkids. Gratitude
was brimming, but at home things went askew:
a broken main – no water until 2.
It’s probable that I have ducked his cold.
I saw him three days after symptoms reared.
I didn’t wear a mask but didn’t hold
him in a sibling hug, and when he neared
I tried to sit at distance. I controlled
affection but concern of course appeared.
Three days have passed, he’s mending, and I’m free
of signs his bug is colonizing me.
Awakening at dawn or just before,
I limp in hip and creak in stretching back.
No tragedy – a decade past three score,
I’m fortunate to duck a worse attack.
Two hours later, coffee-fueled and done
with daily puzzles, news, and writing time,
I bike and do some yoga, having fun
and feeling circa noon I’m in my prime.
By 3 pm, the slide to nap begins.
My stamina forsakes me, and I fade
to where I can misplace word origins
and marvel at the things I morning-made.
I don’t give up – I’ve evening yet, to choose
some cinema through which I’m bound to snooze.
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