Western Walkabout: Kitchen Loyalties
Richard Harris’s fridge noisily reminds him of the aging process.
My old fridge is on the blink
And whatever I may think
It’s time to get a new one.
One that doesn’t sigh
And murmur in the night
Warning that it’s time to die
Drips leaking from her openings
From the earth she came
Do I send her back as landfill?
That good and faithful servant
Her long years of service betrayed
By these material thoughts
Gallons of wine uncounted
She held to her heart for me
Geriatric lettuce
Lingered on in her crisper
With snappy little carrots
Which became old and wrinkly
Before ending up in the minestrone.
Her outside bears the legends of my life
-marathon finisher, masters games
Faded lists of anti-aging foods
Remind of efforts to eat well
Fitness programs and goals
Complement the wellness scheme
What happened to that dream?
Mate, like the fridge, I got old.
She can stay in the corner
Next to the cat’s dishes
Which reminds me,
the cat’s getting old, too.
