Gloria Parker

I Never Do This

But this morning,
I one-upped a clerk at Trader Joe’s.

The poor woman just asked why I looked so frazzled,
and for no sane reason, I said,

I had to dig through papers I never wanted to see again
to find a certified copy of my husband’s death certificate

and she said, I know whatcha mean. Mine’s been dead over
a year now and the damn papers are still driving me nuts.

Then I escalated…It’s been five for me and my son died
at the same time, and she said, Oh my God, I can’t imagine!

I could've just smiled...told her I was overtired.
Then I wouldn't have had to hear this gem:

Well, you know, you can always replace a husband,
but you can never replace a child. 

Trouble is, you can’t always keep a broken heart in check.
Sometimes it bleeds through cracks in the walls of small talk.

Then you have to find a better hiding place for your sorrows
and hope they stay put for a while.

By tomorrow, I’ll be just any other old lady again, which is
a good thing, as Trader Joe's is within walking distance

so I won’t have to struggle with the garage door to take the car
for a quart of milk or a loaf of bread.

 

Previously Published in North Dakota Quarterly

Grinning Idiot Syndrome

On the glossy cover of the Stroke Education Booklet,
five white-haired folks are wearing the same smile.

No explanation within as to why they look so happy...
why they'd be smiling like loons after having a stroke.

Mine was minor…a mere blip... a TIA.
I was lucky. It only left me weary and scared.

Maybe the smiles were what came of their strokes,
or maybe the meds they were put on to ward off another.

Is there rehab for that, or is the impairment for good?
So much is not known about the workings of the brain....

makes me suspicious of anyone who's smiling these days...
what condition they may've been in when casting their votes.

Maybe they were confused....that can happen after a stroke,
so they might have mistaken White House for Big House.

 

 

Gloria Parker is a retired primary school teacher. Her poems have appeared
in Prairie Schooner, Margie, Slipstream, Rattle, Loch Raven Review, Paterson
Literary Review, Nimrod, Twelve Mile Review, Hiram Poetry Journal, Tipton
Poetry Journal, Gyroscope, The MacGuffin, and elsewhere.