Change-of-Plan Haiku

Three guys went fishing.
Two came home 'cause one felt sick;
kids' TV all day.




(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014

Unsettled

At sixes and sevens, as the British say.

Tired but turmoil stirs up restlessness
and when the eyes are closed, the thoughts
begin, the nagging questions, deadlines,
disappointments and concerns.
Relaxation would be pleasant.
Will be, when it comes. Turn the brain off,
park the expectations and frustrations in an
empty lot and take a shuttle to tranquility.
Stretch out, deep breaths, forsake responsibility
for just a bit. I seem to need these respites more,
as time goes by, a symptom of my age or
commentary on the daily stress, or maybe
I'm just getting used to what it feels to
be at ease, at peace, unwilling to
deny myself again for any length of time.



(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014

Twenty-Year Crush

Pre-teen crush she hid so well, watching him

from the metal stands and once in her
front yard as he played catch with
her little brother. Alone, she wrote his name
over and over with painstaking care, shy and
clueless that he'd ever notice her
or even know her name. His crush on her would have
surprised, been daunting at the moment.
Two decades later, though, with lots of miles on both,
they reunited for the day, and all the years
washed out to sea, a little bit with every wave.
Two kids again, sun-kissed and playing in the surf,
their own respective children asking inwardly what all
the grinning was about. And whether destiny
had worked to bring them there or not,
the day felt right, as did, in time, the night.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014

Pees of Mind

The woman just ahead of me at Dollar Tree
was clutching something in her hand a tad too tightly,
crimping edges til she laid it down without a word
onto the moving black belt to be scanned- a bit unnecessary at a place where everything costs just a dollar, but let's get back to the story, for a story there must be when someone goes out rather late at night and looks to be too old for such tomfoolery as this, which I will get to soon. Perhaps it was
a pleasing errand for an errant niece? Granddaughter? Girlfriend of
her son? Not she, at any rate. Gray hair and lines upon her face
bespoke of the absurdity of such. The test for pregnancy she bought
was surely for another, and the peace of mind it would evoke
was worth a buck and more, unless the luck was of a different sort, and
two pink lines would tell another story altogether.
If only I could follow her, I thought, and find out
for myself. I could have asked or, Southern manners barring
that, struck up a conversation, for I sensed her stress and might
have lessened it with some kind gesture or a word. On the other
hand, if I were she at Dollar Tree and someone saw
me buying one of those, I'd be stressed as well, so
I left her to her thoughts.



(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014

As I walked into the Dollar Tree I saw not one or two, but five men sitting in their cars waiting for, I assume, their wives. I wonder which man went with the woman I saw in line?

5th Grade Ceremony

The kids marched by in brand new clothes
still pleated from the factory, girls in satin
(someone went a little overboard) and boys
uncomfortable but proud in ties and vests,
a few who didn't care and wore their jeans
defiantly. Well-behaved they walked in time
to Pomp and Circumstance although it wasn't
really graduation, moving up to middle school,
the end of elementary. Perhaps we have too many
celebrations, five-year-olds in caps and gowns
who have no understanding what it means. But
most of us will likely get applause on only one
or two occasions in our lives. Just think of it.
A portion will drop out. A few will spend their
high school years in prison, one or two may die
of some disease that no one can pronounce.
But not today. Today was fun, a happy memory,
all bright balloons and dress-up, punch with cookies after.
Shake the teachers' hands and thank them for their
service, put the tie and fancy headbands up when
back at home. Let them have today, remembering
the morning that a sea of smiling faces watched them
from the audience, and every hand was clapping
when their names were called.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014

The Train Pulls Out of the Station

That moment when you've run as quickly as you can
and reach the bottom of the staircase just in time
to watch your train pull out. Goodbye, it seems to say,
but not unkindly. I would wait except for all the regulations. See you next time, though. Get up a little earlier. Set your watch ahead, perhaps. I want to get you where you need to go, but I can't do it all alone.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014

June Weddings

April showers bring May flowers,
but in June the tune that's often heard
(though you may think this quite absurd)
is "Here Comes the Bride." One-third
of weddings will unite those who have
wed before, such optimism shown that
this time, they will get it right. They might.
The odds are in their favor. Despite
the often quoted 50-50 chances, or that "half
of all the marriages will end," the latest numbers
now contend it's more like 60-40 with the
weddings out ahead, and I would bet you that
the ones who stay together, more than likely
play and pray and bed together, too.
Some make it work despite the lack of one
or two or all of those, despite the other
challenges that life presents. I wonder, though,
what fraction of those married are as much in love
as when they started, for in my opinion, if
they aren't, perhaps they never were, not both.
And one can only keep it going for so long.
One often hears it said, "Relationships take work!"
but I've observed a few, a very few, that seem
to contradict, who never quarrel, laugh together
every day, respect and touch each other constantly.
That is the model hoped for all the Junes, both
brides and grooms, who take their vows this month.



(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014