October 2020

Week 3/Day 1. Questions about a bunch of stuff (a poem)

2020/10/19 — Leave a comment

The first poem of the third week of the online retreat.

A tool question

Why don’t they make hex wrenches
with screwdriver handles
instead of the hard-to-handle L shape?

It took me 20 minutes to fasten
the first two screws—

plus I lost two washers
and had to go out to buy more.

A memory question

How do you vote when you have dementia?

The New York Times says you can,
but I have to wonder.

What if someone takes you to vote,
but then you forget it happened
and ask someone else to take you?

How do you know who you voted for?

How many times will you wonder
if you might be to blame?

A contest question

‘Save the planet, win a prize’
says the New York Times.

(They say a lot, don’t they?)

What happens if I fail?

A question (and a helpful suggestion) about crickets

In today’s Washington Post:
‘How can I keep the crickets out
of my old, damp garage?’

Don’t let them borrow the car—
and under no circumstances
let them have the keys to the garage.

A question about foresight

Did the Peruvians who etched the giant cat
into the mountain 2000 years ago
know something?

A question about things we don’t know

When doctors announce that they’ve found
‘secretive new organs’ in the center of the head,
why couldn’t it be something that doesn’t
involve saliva?

Why couldn’t it have been a heretofore unknown organ
responsible for all of my bad choices in life,
my inability to enjoy happiness,
or my tendency to overanalyze everything?

And why is it that David Byrne concluding
that he should watch more TV
is a savvy artistic decision,
but for the rest of us
a method of procrastination?

(19 October 2020)

Wishes sometimes have consequences is available to order from your favorite local bookstore.

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