The Snooze Button

The errands are mounting.
They pile in the middle of the room.
The pile is a mountain.
It’s getting hard to ignore,

but I double my efforts
force my head down
and sleep a little longer.

It’s a salesman,
the snooze button,
persuasive and slick,
telling me to
worry about the it later.
It’s always later.

The errands are mounting.
I have to extend my visa.
I have to apply for insurance.
I have to find an old pay stub.
There’s a paper due next Tuesday
I need to do some research.
Credit card bills, rent checks,
library fines, parking tickets.
Floors need mopping.
Oil needs changing.
Dishes need washing.
Laundry needs folding.
Books need reading.
And I’m out of milk.

The errands are starting to avalanche.
The whole mountain is crashing down.
The raucous is deafening,
I can’t hear myself think.

But I double my effort,
shut my eyes tight,
shove a pillow over my head,
hit the snooze button
and sleep another ten minutes.

If Nostalgia Could Kill

There was the summer of whiskey and soda. And we bought big bottles of Jim Beam, with little hope of finishing. And we were regulars, with jukebox favorites and never-ending bowls of over-salted popcorn,

There were the weeks we were snowed in. When the town was Alaska. When a trip to the grocery store was a mountaineering expedition. There were Hot Toddys downtown, ugly sweater parties and German spiced wine.

There were the Thursdays when we’d read the epistles. A six-pack of beer and St. Paul guided our thoughts. We asked questions and waited for new episodes of the Office.

Dear Ryan, II

I don’t understand rubiks cubes?
Do you?
Why is it important
to have the yellow all the same side.

Ryan, I don’t know how to make gumbo.
I’m afraid to try.
I’m sorry,
but I was never taught
and I don’t trust internet recipes.

I wonder what you think
of blazers with jeans,
short sleeved shirts with ties,
the language of Prairie Dogs;
Ryan I have more questions
than thoughts.

But I think,
if we were to put our heads together
we could get to the bottom
of this global-warming problem.

Ryan I’m worried about the penguins,
they have more troubles than any animal ought.
There are seals, Orcas, broken eggs,
short legs, not enough fish
and not enough ice.

Am I being clear?
I Feel a bit jumbled.

What I mean is:
I’m having a Big Lebowski party tonight
I have Kahlua, Vodka and cream
I need you to bring the ice.

Love,
Jake