A Pound of Butter is Four Sticks

 

Four or five sticks of butter,

not heavy, but understandable.

Less than 24 week premature baby,

weighs the same but

incredible and almost incomprehensible.

Viable, maybe—looks like a tiny doll,

desirable, it depends on so many things,

difficult to manage, yes,

technology helps, but

the ultimate outcome,

unpredictable.

 

Sutton Island

 

Lesser and greater Cranberries,

accessible only via mail boat unless you own.

It took years of signing up to finally get a week,

only twelve each summer.

No roads, just paths, a couple of docks. Haul

in what you need; haul out what’s left when you leave.

The old cottage with super steep steps to the second floor,

old plumbing, vintage kitchen made for the setting or visa versa.

No one around except fish hawks and hornets and various

critters. We explored the island left no litter.

I went to my knees when a hornet hit me in the leg—never

stung like that before or since.

The water was too cold for me; the kids loved it. We

collected mussels ten yards from the porch. I steamed

them, ate them, but the rest of family said no.

If only I could fish like those hawks. Their enormous

nests dominated the shore line. They circle and

dive, technique sublime; perching in trees or their roosts

scanning before airborne again.

After a week, we packed, walked slowly to the dock,

waited for the mail boat to take us back to Northeast

Harbor while savoring every minute of our adventure.

 

Alas, there are no more weeks,

too complicated and expensive to maintain so

house sold, perk gone, faculty sad, an administrator’s

priorities—a great loss.

 

Did You Feel That?

 

particle soup–new ones discovered and added as

detectors and accelerators get more gigantic—leading me to

question about unexplained lightening pains in this or that

body part which might reflect a super rare subatomic

interaction between one of these zillions of particles mostly

neutrinos passing through us with one hitting a random

nucleus producing enough energy to wreak quarky chaos

 

Cure all

Home-made chicken soup

Jewish penicillin

good for almost everything

also tasty for Gentiles

 

Discovery

 

flashes of understanding

appear suddenly with

magical clarity

unexpected, satisfying

not a phantom, but a clear

path to insight

obscured previously by the

miasma prevailing—

a mind unprepared or unreceptive

to see through our ignorance

 

Dank and Dark

 

Low overcast

grey, raining

enough to conjure

darkest thoughts

of transgressions made

and not yet made

deepening the regret of

options lost

by unkind actions or

biased implication

when thoughtful talk

could have made it right

Skin Deep

 

some worship smooth, flawless, spotless, skin

nurtured with creams, lotions, potions

pale, porcelain or bronzed and beckoning

a nip and tightening tuck or Botox parties

widespread without dread, results often dreadful

older skin baggy, wrinkled, lacking bounce,

thinning, bunching up when bothered,

loose on arms and butt, with moles, splotches,

spots, growths and vessels creating a Pollock-like

pastiche of doubt–maybe danger…

stroking the area between my thumb and first finger

the skin scrunches in concentric waves, like old leather

dreamy, warm, soft, spotted, comforting—

not the least bit creepy, beautiful and real

 

Have you had your check up?

 

Call it a crap shoot–

finding a good doctor

or auto mechanic are

not so different.

 

Schedule a time for the game

of diagnosis, treatment

and holy preventative care.

 

The doc recommends for better health you lose weight,

stop smoking, drink less alcohol,

exercise more, eat a balanced diet,

get immunized—that kind of stuff.

 

The mechanic recommends for better driving,

get the junk out, proper tire

pressure, check oil and water

levels, correct grade of fuel,

don’t make rapid accelerations,

and check brakes and tie bars.

 

The doc might use blood tests, x-rays,

instruments to look into body cavities,

and when things wear out, replace parts

like hips and knees. If things are more serious,

kidneys, livers, hearts, bone marrow and other

organs may be on the replacement list.

 

The mechanic might use an engine analyzer, oscilloscope,

oil analysis, bore scopes to look into hard to see places,

and when things wear out, replace parts like tires, brakes,

points, plugs, rings, and water pumps. For more serious

problems, cylinders, crank shafts, timing belts

and entire engines might be swapped out.

 

Kind of sounds similar don’t you think?

 

Whatever the problem or intervention,

most people want to talk about it,

get an explanation, try to understand—

good luck with that; talking time equals no dollars so

it’s hard to make happen.

 

 

Doctors have lots of schooling and additional training

making for high expectations.

Mechanics often have less formal schooling layered with

lots of additional training, making for high expectations.

Doctors are professionals;

Mechanics are tradesmen;

Who do you trust?

 

A code of ethics should underpin both

and most of both fit that mold.

In the grand scheme, doctors are

more likely to hurt you. Mechanics may

cost you some money; doctors may

cost you much more.

 

So what’s a body to do?

Keep up scheduled maintenance-

Attend to minor ailments and glitches-

Feed the beast properly-

Obey sensible rules-

More than anything,

fingers crossed and hope for the best.