On Any Given Day

 

If the water doesn’t drip from the faucet

if coffee in the morning never percolates

if the sun fails to shine through the window

should the pain no longer persist and the dog

fails to wag its tail

if the state of missouri is no longer recognized

should capital letters and punctuation cease

to have a place

if leaves on the trees in autumn refuse to fall

and the bee has its buzz taken away

if the page never turns again

and is left blank without a writer to write

or is left devoid of its reader to read

and there is neither a beginning or an end ever again

should the pig fail to enter the slaughter house

and never makes it to market

should the cigarette never smoked lie unlit

in the package and letters in the mail box

remain unopened and in place

should the ringing phone never be answered again

and the music on the radio fall silently

upon deaf ears

if that and this all these and those not be

attended to and time passes unused day after

day

should directions and recipes remain unheeded

and the rent and gas bill go unpaid

should Christmas go uncelebrated

and the morning bed remain rumpled and unmade

should springtime never arrive

and flowers no longer decorate the grave

you may not notice that someone unknown

has passed away

no date of birth or death on the headstone

is engraved

Could be any one of us i’m supposing

resting in peace meaninglessly

 

god is calling long distance

and no one answers on any given day

                       -30-

chris hanch 10-5-2020