Chain Mail

When I was a girl,

Every once in a while,

I’d receive in the mail,

Because that was the style,

 

A letter to copy

And send to a name

At the top of a list,

Which in that letter came.

 

When you copied the note,

You’d add your own address

To the list, while deleting

The top one. Success

 

Came when after some days

You’d receive quite a slew

Of the letters, from strangers,

Delivered to you.

 

If you followed the rules,

You would have some good luck.

If you didn’t, without it,

I guess you’d be stuck.

 

The letters back then

Needed stamps and were mailed

And the fun part was knowing

That you had prevailed.

 

Now my granddaughter sent me

A chain in a text:

“Sent to 15 new people

Or what happens next

 

Will be lots of bad luck

For 3 years if you don’t.

If you do, you will get

A new phone.” (No, I won’t.)

 

“You will also be getting

The pet of your dreams.

Everybody will love you!”

I guess that’s how it seems

 

To the youth of today,

But with this kind of chain,

As I wrote to my granddaughter,

I will refrain.

A Sizeable Story

A clairvoyant, who wasn’t too tall,

Got involved in an ill-fated brawl.

His predictions fell flat

And his client, quite fat,

Threw him head-first right into a wall.

 

When he managed to finally stand,

There was somehow a knife in his hand,

Which he used for one thrust;

Then, avoiding a bust,

He escaped, like it somehow was planned.

 

When the cops arrived, someone in charge

Did explain what occurred to the sarge;

So in minutes, the police

Sent an all-points release:

There’s a medium, small, who’s at large.

My Doctor's Appointment

I canceled my doctor’s appointment

The second time, due to the snow.

It’s to check on my eyes

But to no one’s surprise,

The predictions say I shouldn’t go.

 

It’s not an emergency visit,

But now I will be overdue.

I wanted things checked

But the blizzard’s effect

Is to underscore what is taboo,

 

Which is venture outside when the weather

May have whiteout conditions or worse.

I could trip on the ice

So I’ll follow advice

And stay home since the forecast’s adverse.

 

Maybe third time’s the charm will prove worthy

And on my next appointment, I’ll show.

Until then I’ll give in;

Mother Nature will win

And from home I’ll watch blizzard winds blow.

Their Own Ticking

We can’t set our internal clocks;

They manage their own ticking

And though it seems a paradox,

They can’t be changed by tricking.

 

For if you are an early bird,

Your body will awaken

At hours some will find absurd,

The dreamer’s world forsaken.

 

Yet you will revel in the dawn,

Its quiet like a buffer,

While later wake-up times will spawn

A mindset that will suffer.

 

For those who let the morning pass,

Reluctantly arising,

That extra sleep provides the gas

They need for energizing.

 

A rooster’s crow will surely jolt

Their deep and dreamy slumber

And mind and body will revolt

At daybreak’s early number.

 

Internal clocks are set at birth –

We have one or the other,

But my advice, for what it’s worth –

Don’t blame your dad or mother.

Bread and Salt

To follow tradition,

When someone has moved,

If to buying a gift

You feel somewhat behooved,

 

Instead of some flowers

Or wine, try instead

The old-fashioned welcome

Of salt and of bread.

 

These both are symbolic

Of things households need,

Ensuring its members

Will thrive and succeed.

 

An extra for sweetness,

Like cookies or cake,

Will round out the offer

Of mazel* you’ll make.

 

Whatever you bring to

Your kith or your kin,

It shows love for the home

Where new lives will begin.

 

*luck (in Yiddish)

So Many Athletes

So many athletes get their start

When they’re in school, or younger,

With parents to encourage dreams

And help sustain that hunger.

 

They’ll build a backyard skating rink

Or schlep them to their classes

And drain the family’s bank account

Plus take vacation passes.

 

The lucky ones fulfill those hopes

And join the real contenders,

Competing for the recognition

Such a feat engenders.

 

But what about the other ones,

Who never reach that level,

Whose injuries or lack of talent

Torment and bedevil?

 

I wonder if they sit and watch

The games and all the glory

And wish they had a very different

Ending to their story.

Long Ago and Far Away

In the pictures, I’m smiling,

My face deeply tanned,

Surrounded by friends

In a faraway land.

 

A summer in Israel,

Without any cares,

To spend meeting people

At work picking pears.

 

We woke at 4:30

And, after a meal,

We boarded the trucks;

Oh, that life did appeal!

 

So different from all

That I knew from before.

To sweat in the orchards

Felt not like a chore

 

But like an adventure,

To be there among

Others on their own journeys,

All carefree and young.