Life's Poetic Moments

Dear George,

I am taking two poetry classes this term, basic and advanced.  We have a weekly homework assignment in each, and I usually write a few extra as well for good luck.  Hence, I’m wallowing in poems.  Lately I’ve been writing about anecdotes from everyday life.  Here are some examples.

Love,

Dave

Regular Eggs

Camping in the U.P.

my spouse sent me to the corner store

to pick up a dozen eggs

I found a cooler containing cartons of eggs

but half were labelled “Low Sodium”

and the other half, “Low Gluten”

I just wanted regular eggs

I searched for a different cooler 

but no luck

A lady my age walked by with her cart

I asked if she knew where the regular eggs are

explaining all I could find

were low sodium eggs and gluten-free eggs

She smiled

“All eggs,” she explained gently

“are low in sodium and low in gluten.”

“These are just labeled for the health nuts”

Sheepishly, I picked out a dozen low sodium eggs

As it turned out, they were

just as tasty as

regular eggs

(as long as you added some salt)

Lost and Found

On my way home from the Library

I happened to glance down

and lying there on the sidewalk

a shiny silver stylus

identical to the one I use to

tap out messages on my iPhone

My heart skipped a beat  

These cost ten to fifteen dollars

I could use a spare stylus

In fact, at that very moment

I had my own stylus

in my trouser pocket

I reached in to get it out 

to compare

with my new stylus

Much to my surprise

my own stylus wasn’t in my pocket 

Then I realized

I had dropped my stylus on the sidewalk

on the first half of my walk

And then I had found it again 

on the second half

In brief, I had found my own stylus

I was disappointed

not to have two styluses

But also happy not to have zero

And I was grateful to be the finder 

It could have been a five-year-old child 

Now I am curious how many possessions

I lose on my walks

I have started to keep an eye out

Sleep Music

The last concert of the season

A string trio playing

J. S. Bach

“The Goldberg Variations”

Thirty-six variations composed by J. S.

“for the refreshment of the spirit”

Number 36, an aria entitled

“Cabbage and beets have driven me away”

The Variations reminded me of

the sleep music that my spouse plays

on the radio

when she turns off the light 

And, in fact, I soon found myself nodding off

Always a bit embarrassing

When I woke I noticed a woman in black to my left

whose head kept dipping down

and jerking up

The couple next to her seemed in a comatose state

A man straight ahead of me was either

asleep or stricken by an unknown condition 

Another man had his head resting on his chest

What, I wondered,

if the entire audience falls asleep?

The trio will no doubt  continue

dedicated, as they are, to completing 

all thirty-six Variations