Eid al-Fitr

My classes were cancelled 

And school kids are home

Because of the holiday

Named in this poem.

No alternate parking,

In New York, at least,

So Muslims can gather

For prayer and feast.

When I was a teacher,

No calendar showed 

This holiday, so

No vacation was owed.

Our “melting pot” image

Is surely intact 

When days off are given

And how we react

Depends on our views -

Some support; others scoff.

I suspect those who like it, though,

Have the day off.

Parallelograms

I am spatially inept;

My brain just won’t work that way.

That is why I’ve always kept

Certain challenges at bay.

 

For my class’s Lone Star Quilt,

We have started now to sew,

Yet my spirits might soon wilt

As frustration starts to grow.

 

Parallelograms we’ve cut

Out of fabrics of our choosing.

They’ll be sewn together, but,

I find it’s so darn confusing

 

That some shapes face left or right,

Like a mirror image shown

And my brain puts up a fight,

Causing me to sweat and moan.

 

Still, I’ll keep up and attempt

To complete this pattern’s look,

Hoping that I’ll be exempt

From working strictly by the book.

A.I. Companions

Not only don’t I have one

But nobody else I know

Has an A.I. buddy, or, at least,

Will say that it is so.

 

I read a lengthy article

About these so-called “friends,”

Which scared me since it doesn’t seem

That these are simply trends.

 

Creators justify their use

To fill so many needs –

Companionship, approval,

Affirmation, all the seeds

 

Which we used to plant and nurture

With a living, breathing soul,

When actual relationships

Appeared to be the goal.

 

The future looms in ways to which

I can’t at all relate,

When real and artificial beings

Manage to conflate.

 

I’m glad that I won’t be around

When what we can expect

Is that everyone will need

Such a companion to connect.

At the St. Paddy's Parade

Of course there were bagpipes

And kilt-wearing men.

As always, they marched

Up Fifth Ave. once again.

 

The day, bright and sunny,

Was cold, plus the wind

Challenged anyone out there

Who wasn’t thick-skinned.

 

I felt for the students

Parading without

Warm jackets or gloves;

They were frozen, no doubt.

 

Yet the smiles were contagious

And so was the green,

For today we’re all Irish;

There’s no in-between.

 

Which is why, walking home,

I made one unplanned stop,

Since tonight needs some Guinness –

Not just a wee drop!

Reluctantly

A strange thing happens as I age,

Which cannot be controlled.

I tend to focus, everywhere,

On people who are old.

 

Today, a doctor’s waiting room,

A check-up for my eyes,

Was filled with those so elderly,

From seats they couldn’t rise.

 

As names were called, they shuffled out,

(Our wait time very wrong!)

But watching them, I wondered,

Is this group where I belong?

 

To get there, on the bus I sat

As people moved inside,

With canes and walkers, hoping

For a seat unoccupied.

 

And on TV, up on the stage,

On Oscar night, I saw

The older actors missing

All their sparkle, once a draw.

 

When I was young, I rarely noticed

Seniors within range,

Yet now, reluctantly, I see

My view’s begun to change.

Yet To Come

“The best is yet to come,” to me

Is more a wish than guarantee

For in the future, what will be

We cannot really know.

 

We tend to hope things will improve

For life’s in motion; as we move,

We try to get into a groove

That lets our feelings flow.

 

Yet who’s to say that on our quest

To seek what’s joyful, we’ll get stressed

And realize we have not progressed

Or taken time to grow?

 

In that case, we’ll look to the past

At happiness we thought would last

And see that all that we’ve amassed’s

As far as we can go.

 

At times, it seems quite evident

That “all the best to come” just went

And though it wasn’t our intent,

That best was long ago.

On Pi Day

Because it is Pi Day,

Let’s talk about pie.

The math type’s beyond me;

I won’t even try.

 

But thinking of key lime

Or lemon meringue

Just makes my mouth water –

That citrusy tang!

 

Or how about apple crumb?

Yes, a la mode!

Or strawberry rhubarb,

With tastes that explode.

 

My favorite is blueberry,

Raspberry, too.

I’m not fond of cherry,

Which might work for you.

 

Some people like custard

Or chocolate cream

Or pecan or pumpkin

And, while on this theme…

 

Of course, there is pizza

So scarf up a slice.

However you celebrate,

Pie will suffice.