Fairyland: First Day Off

What a change! So strange!
But twas a beautiful day, sunny and hot
And towards late afternoon,
I had a peak out

On the balcony,
All was quiet
And so, I decided
To drink my tea out there

But first I had to
Cover the plastic chair
With clean cloth,
As it was dirty on top from lack of use

And then,
I pulled out
The tiny round table,
Painted an ugly shade of pink,

No wonder it was thrown out
By somebody or other,
Because aside from that
It was badly stained,

But to me it mattered not,
As after washing it off
It was perfect for the spot
Right next to my similarly found chair;

And so, after steeping the tea
In a big green mug,
I placed it on the table,
Sat happily sipping it up and appreciating the view.

It then occurred to me I could even read;
I grabbed an old novel, The Mists of Avalon, would you believe?
And read and read, already well absorbed on the tranquil eve
Of my first real day off, in many a long year!

Fade: Leave Taking

My last night on
Was quite a mess,
So much went amiss
And the cause?
Twas one of the usual suspects, of course!

But I won’t go there,
Not wanting to
Single anyone out,
Even one who deserves it,

As I’m gone anyway,
All is left behind,
Renounced and abandoned
For all time;

But as a consequence
Of this rude behaviour,
I could not say a proper goodbye
To the last caller!

Nevertheless, at the end of the shift,
I took the opportunity
To give a proper farewell to the premises,
Which shall be greatly missed.

After everyone else had left,
I pondered the many memories
Of this venerable old building
That is amazingly still standing!

So much has echoed
Through, inside and outside
These aging walls,
What secrets they could tell!

I sat long and wandered, lingering,
Remembering much, longing for some of it
And glad some else had passed,
Saying final farewells and taking my last leave at last.

Facing: Saying Goodbye

Twas a pleasant little party
For my departing,
Complete with small gifts,
Cheese, fruit and bagels,

Nothing much
For such a long tenure,
Not even a plaque
For my 15 years of labour!

Just like that,
I’m out of here,
No bells or whistles,
Nor even ribbons or bows.

Just as well though,
As I dislike fuss
And have often said thus
And so, this is what I got.

That’s okay,
Even though it’s not a lot,
At least I was well fed,
Instead of fed up!

I’ve always liked feasting
But also like to follow
A healthy diet
Wherever I can get it!

And so, I filled my plate many times over,
Making sure, there were few leftovers,
Nevertheless, doling out as lavishly as I refilled,
To the evident enjoyment of all present

But taking some of it home, in the end
And now, onward I go
For another few days,
Until I finally exit to
That which next awaits.

Facilitated: Just Another Swan Song

It might have been
Something
That happened
At work,

It might have been
The hot weather
That
Sent the signal

Or
It might have been
Only just
Time to go

But
I’m leaving
This job behind
And I don’t want
To write about it or remember anymore;

It’s gone,
It’s just a ghost,
I can hardly wait to
Get past this post,

To abandon this pit stop,
If it even was that!
Goodbye to all
And get on with it!

No bags to pack,
This time, not even that,
For I didn’t even have
My own desk at which to rest

But had to keep moving around
And so, maybe this
Is just a continuation
Of that motion.

Facets: Searching

A garden centipede
Has taken up residence
And occupies itself
Crawling back and forth
Across the carpeted bedroom floor;

It follows roughly the same lines,
Popping up alarmingly
From somewhere at different times,
Hunting for its prey, I presume

And thus, in order to avoid
Tramping on it accidentally,
I’m tempted
To put up a sign: “Centipede crossing,”

Although,
I’m not sure
Exactly where
This sign ought to go,

Hanging from the ceiling
In the middle
Of the room
Seems best

But I’m not sure how
I would get it
Up there
Or on what I’d hang it up;

Meanwhile,
I’m moving onward
To pursue some goals of my own,
Some as yet unknown

And so, I walk back and forth now
On the same carpeted floor,
Thinking out my next move,
In my own pursuit of something elusive.