An accusation was made
his after-lunch dessert brownie 
was missing
I issued a denial:

I have no memory
of eating the last brownie
perhaps you should 
enquire elsewhere
but I do have a vague memory
of eating a brownie
neither bound by another’s claim
nor was it the last one

I remember vividly
enjoying the walnuts
the chocolate sweetness
and soft chewy center
the hardened edges
crisped by the pan wall 
always the most delicious  part
I relished every morsel

wait, I remember now
scraping up the crumbs
of the empty pan
with a spoon - yum
it was indeed
the last one
though I don’t
concede your claim

yes, I ate the last brownie 
but not YOUR brownie
you should know by now
nothing is evenly shared
when the baker is involved

What are those secrets we conceal  
the ones that make our suffering real  
they make us limp 
and filled with shame
those weighty faults
we fear to name

what do people think of you
tell it now and tell it true
are you fat
are you weak
are you drunk
are you meek
are you stupid
are you frail
are you ugly
are you pale

your logic has a little kink
this list is not what people think
it has a truer other name
these are the whispers of your shame

I wonder sometimes
why he married someone 
so mismatched

I am grand whimsy 
and make-believe
he is humble and sincere
unposed photos
uninflated statistics
unembellished stories
unexaggerated triumphs
unpostured values
unfiltered words

he lives an unretouched life
devoted to honesty
my bellwether
of too much pretending

his life of truth
helps me
find my own

With information on demand
our magical phones 
create symmetry among humans

we don’t need good memories to be smart
we don’t need more access to find answers
we have a second brain in our pocket

when we can use our phones
who wins the spelling bee?

this new flattened field 
welcomes all players to the game
but the smartest 
are no longer a sure thing

today’s spoils belong 
to wise choices
to curiosity
to passion projects
to those who love learning

when schools are sold for warehouse space
what will have replaced them?

I know one thing for sure
it will be the brainchild 
of not so smart people
with an obsession
and a phone

the embrace of earth
holding us
the rise and fall of breath
soothing us
the vastness of sky
filling us
their whispers
reminding us

beloved
is our true name

I think I hear this old house
creak when we try that dance on TikTok
moan when we can’t find something on TV

its walls grew up without electric current
without insulation to buffer the wind
in winters it smelled of burning wood
in summers it filled with the songs of birds 
not this drone of air conditioning

what would those previous inhabitants think
about a frozen pizza setting off the smoke alarm
hot and cold water from a tap
or those fictional children we keep bossing around
named Alexa and Siri

I pretend the ghosts of these former residents
live in the basement
where the dirt floor and tree log beams
remind them they’re home

When life is threatened
reality disintegrates

there is no room
for happiness
for excitement
for planning vacations

feelings are luxuries

each day
heavy
deliberate

each thought
tainted
uncertain

except when you feel
the warmth of sunshine
taste the lemon tart on your tongue
watch the birds soar overhead

except when you slip
the merciless clutch of the future
and find yourself laughing

”I might be wrong”
it’s a thought that seldom occurred to me 
in past decades

now it’s omnipresent

I’m not sure when I
first dropped my convictions
first questioned my opinions
first doubted my beliefs

maybe it stacked up slowly
as I realized how little I knew

maybe it just got easier 
to admit I didn’t know

or perhaps humility
is a natural consequence of awe

They said there would be a storm
but it never came
just a light sprinkle

none of the threatened hail
or strong winds
like the other almost tragedies
that could’ve ended us 
but didn’t — like
the biopsies
the plane crashes
the divorces
the gunmen

how does fate decide
to spare us
I wonder

If it’s up to me
I’ll go with the dice roll
for everything

having favorites
seems
ungodlike

We would put our dreams on hold
but there’s no “later” to hold them

only “now” 
can hold a dream
just one at a time
so we can inhale it
until it fills us
changing the color of life
singing its own theme song

one moment
one dream

which should we choose?

If you’re wondering what got me started writing poems, you’ll find the story here. Or, if you’re wondering why this collection is called Slender Stalk, click here. If you’re wondering where you can read the past issues of Slender Stalk, click here. If you’re wondering where you can read more of my poems, check out my website: Life at 240.

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