Evolving

I’ve lost my taste for certain foods
That once I used to crave
And others I resist for health,
Unless I start to cave.

The sweetest treats from youth
Today would fill me with distaste,
So candy corn and cotton candy
Both have been displaced.

A PBJ on Wonder Bread
Right now holds no appeal
And neither does cold cereal,
A once-loved breakfast meal.

No longer do I fill my plate
With lobster, veal or lamb
Though I’m not vegetarian
(In case you think I am).

I guess it’s only natural
That tastes should thus evolve,
But why it happens is a puzzle
We will never solve.

Happy Chanukah

Choose a colored candle;
Place it in the hole.
Light a match and say a prayer;
It’s soothing for the soul.

Eat some latkes, get some gifts;
Think about the past.
Some traditions in our lives
Just seem to take and last.

Spin the dreidel; earn some gelt.
With seven nights to go,
This Chanukah may prove to be
The best you’ll ever know.

Zipping By

I wish that things could stay the same
But that's not how it goes.
For many, change is always good
Though I'm not one of those.

I don't adapt too easily
When styles and trends evolve,
Appearing like a puzzle
I don't have the tools to solve.

So I get stuck inside the past
As life goes zipping by
Most times so fast, I can't keep up
And lose the will to try.

Cram in Life

Cram in life as best you can
For no one knows the final plan.
Our days are numbered, as they say,
So take advantage, come what may.

What happens next we’ll never know;
Tonight may be the final blow.
Expecting elsewise is for fools;
We play a game with secret rules.

My Sock's Gone Rogue

My sock’s gone rogue and disappeared
Without a single clue.
His mate is worried sick, but what
Am I supposed to do?

I searched the dryers with no luck,
Unfolded every sheet,
Expecting that my efforts
Wouldn’t hand me a defeat.

I stashed away the matched-up pairs
And left the missing half
Beside the others, like some wheat
That’s separate from the chaff.

The AWOL sock may show up soon,
Exhausted from his spree
And in the drawer, a fine reunion
There will likely be.

But there is just the slightest chance,
Like Earhart in the skies,
He’s vanished – poof! without a trace,
A rebel in disguise.

First Flakes

The first flakes of snow of the season
Came fluttering down from the sky.
They dusted the rooftops and branches of trees,
As silent and soft as a sigh.

The weatherman said not to worry
For surely those snowflakes would melt
Which is why, since the snow wouldn't hinder,
I could show the delight that I felt.

For the first flakes appear just like magic
And provide every child with a thrill
But to some of us, though we're grown-up now,
We can savor that specialness, still.

The Lion

The lion, a zoo-living fellow,
Let loose with a very loud bellow
     But after his roar
     He bellowed no more
And sat there, both regal and mellow.

The jungle was ages ago.
If he thinks of it, we just don't know
     But his roaring's the thing
     That reminds him he's king
And to us, it's all part of the show.