Somehow, Soon | DeWitt Clinton

Oh, Nothing Much, You?

Well, yes, we do have a few puny pale yellow day lilies
Bursting forth in our little universe, the size of the lot
I’d have to look up if you’re that curious, and I’ve set
Down some tiny grass seeds near the sidewalk to 
Replace whacked grass the mowing crew always likes
To take down to the nub.  Other than that, we’re looking
Forward to more movies which we’ve already seen,
And we’re always tempted to see “Burn After Reading”
Again, and maybe again, as it’s fun to say the lines along
With the hilarious discombobulated, but we know none 
Of it’s true, but we always think it is, and it is, of course,
Somewhere, but not here, yet, though the way things
Are developing around here, anything might pop in
Into our tiny little universe. Of course, we’re gloved
And masked, as we have no way to know where those
Tiny floating bugs are that want to slip down our nose
Into our old lungs, and since both of them, hers and 
Mine, are not exactly in great shape, we’re doing all
We know how to do, but we do get very frightened
Anytime, anytime, all the time we turn on the telly
And learn that we’re back to April with even higher
Infections so that makes both of us want to stop
Breathing at all, but then, after a few seconds we
Gasp for air, having no real assurances from anyone
We’re not already lined up to be stacked in the morgue
Like so many of our dear friends have ended up, but
If you think about it, and haven’t you had time to 
Think about it as well, well, we’re mostly into survival
Mode, eating more asparagus and Brussels sprouts 
That we would never have dreamed of but we’re
Hopeful the sandstorm from the Sahara will not only
Blot out all the light around here, but also give a 
Good whack to those floating, nasty critters who
Don’t like at all a sandblasting into their micro- 
Impossible-to-believe-they’re-still-here-with-us.
Yes, pour some more of that, and how’s by you?

Anytime, Possibly

Someday, one of us isn’t going to be around
The other, and that hasn’t happened before,
Except for the occasional trip to you know where,
Or other times which are now so hard to put
Back into our old brains now, but then, 
Each one of us wants the other to step up
To what each of us can’t imagine, and lately
I’ve seen a lot of old friends do the very same
Thing, step up, cope, figure It out, go out 
For a walk, maybe all day, though then there’d
Be less food on our little bed trays, and of
Course, less trash, overall, but one of those
Days, we’d start to wonder how we’re going
(and it’s not exactly we’re going) to cope with
All those dresses and suits and shoes downstairs
Which one of us said, let someone else take
Care of that, and I think I know who that’s
Going to be, so I’ll step up, or down, and see
What’s there that’s going to different stores
That might want to feature all the fashions
One of us is no longer wearing and just the
Thought of that makes me think I’ll wear black
Or white all day, maybe all night, yet for what
Reason I have no idea, though I sense a lot
Of single spouses might wonder the same thing,
Getting used to not saying, “I’m home,” when
Of course, you’re home, not you, but me, of
Course there’s the cat, so the “I’m home” 
Could be just as good as before, but not before
Pets to the head, or tail, hearing a little squeak
Which for the present, will have to do. That
Seems about right doesn’t it, the sort of that
Will have to do, at least for a while, until 
Something else unexpected might go wrong,
And then someone else will have to finish
What I couldn’t get around to with all that time.

Somehow, Soon, We’ll Ascend into the Clouds

Thanks for even wondering if we’re still here as
We don’t step out that much anymore, and our 
Last dining out ended up carrying it all back home,
But it was tasty, especially the grilled tuna with
All those delicious peppers and onions nestled
Nicely together in warm cubed feta and olives 
Which makes all of us wish we were back again
On the Mediterranean island where we took
A lift straight up the mountain side to behold
Island top shops and restaurants just for the 
Curious who were living off shore in spacious
Apartments, some with balconies, so we could
All gaze out over the blue waters to watch dolphins
Sail so happily just above the waves, but that
Was long ago, wasn’t it, and now we’re in lock-
Down hoping to save our old lungs from what
None of us ever expected to travel around the
Globe with such frightening speed, as if WWI
Wasn’t enough, a plague-like flu wiped away
So many who had just entered into the new
And frightening world which some of us 
can still remember, not the first part, as that
Would make us older than anything living
On the planet, and so much is no longer
Living, but we are hopeful, as just yesterday
Astronomers applauded the possibility of life
On Venus, though getting there, from here,
Seems a long shot, and possibly not in our
Lifetime, but that’s really beside the point,
Isn’t it, as all we really have is the idea that
Clouds out there, somewhere, might drift
Toward earth in several million years, long
After Aunt Lucy or cousin Geraldine have 
Turned to dust as by then almost everything
Will be dust, and that’s what we really wonder
About after all this effort, to find something,
Something interesting, only to know by then
The planet will probably re-create itself and
To our delight, a few will crawl out of the 
Cesspool oceans, and make a life on a beach,
Something like the one we enjoyed so much
As we ascended with other travelers way up
Onto the most loveliest of old-world islands.