Whispered Wanderings

Day 11

Today’s prompt: write a poem that takes as its starting point something overheard that made you laugh, or something someone told you once that struck you as funny. When I started writing, I had no idea I was going to end up where I did… excuse me while I go cry a little.

Overheard

“What kind of cheese would you like, sir?”

“California cheese!”

Of course you meant American cheese but
you were a proud Californian, after all so…
So.
It became a running joke between us
“let’s get some of that California cheese today” jab jab
and we’d laugh
in that easy way we used to have of being truly
together.

We don’t laugh like that anymore
even the old private jokes
have crumbled to dust,
swept away like so many burnt breadcrumbs
from underneath the toaster

And life has gone on
jobs and cars and home repairs filling our days…
when we watched our now-grown son move away
(Me trying not to cry
you trying to cheer me up)

I rejected you then,
stuck as I was in the knowledge that
the time wasn’t right…
not realizing it never would be
again.

klm
4/11/23