Grandma's Handsome Boy

I wanted to just peace out at home with a couple of winged seraphim,

OJT for heaven,

Advancing to sainthood in a titubatory list,

Walking On Sunshine roses,

Lucky 8 yellow freestone peaches,
No next day grogginess.

An aluminum ladder being moved.

An iron gate clanging shut.

Kids laughing and shrieking.

Concerto for crickets, ceiling fans,

Bassoon and low strings.

Wind going through the morphology of leaves.

But then Mission control

Collapses like a marionette.

Automatic weaponry: phump phump phump.

From Thai to Peruvian to Italian.

The expectatious jackals move in.

Spark plugs play hummingbirds.

Grandma’s handsome boy,

Flaxen wig upon his head,

Tired after ten acres of mowing,

Carpe diem to refill the dog’s water bowl.

Retweeted lawn signs.

Texts, tercets, Ted talks.

Farewells and bye y’alls.

Better angels playing steam calliopes.

Phlebotomists capping vials.

Screen caps making land.

Bejeweled emergency vehicles.

The future going straight to voicemail.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.