“Capilano Canyon” by Allen Forrest, oil on canvas

This week
I know three more dead people.
That is the reality of becoming old.

Age
is washed in the knowledge
of all that’s lost as life goes along;
belief, friendships, goods, security,
eras, youthful energy, innocence.

It’s easy to wallow in loss,
but today
I will think of good things.

After all,
joy deserves equal time,
but is rarely loud enough to demand it.

So I will think of the tree near Cayuga Creek
draped in captured fishing lures,
webs of fishing lines,
and so many red & yellow bobbers & floats & sinkers
they appear to be fruits & blossoms
on those unleafed, early spring branches.

I will think of my children,
running from the mother goose that hissed
as it protected its eggs. And remember
giggling with them afterward on the bench
of the Reinstein nature trail.

I will look at my collection of John MacDonald books
and pick one to read
while I wrap myself
in the warm fuzzy blanket I inherited from my aunt.
But first I will indulge in my favorite mint black tea.
And butter cookies.

After all, joy deserves equal time.

Herb Kauderer is a retired Teamster who is currently an associate professor of English at Hilbert College. He holds an MFA from Goddard College among his diverse degrees, and author Will McDermott has called him “the master of life change.” Herb has had about a thousand poems published including eight chapbooks, most recently The Book of Answers which has met with great critical success.

Read an interview with Herb here.