Black Friday
Small Business Saturday
Soccer Sunday
Cyber Monday
Giving Tuesday
Weird Al Wed (NPR on replay)
Go Green Thursday
Is it Friday yet?
my email spirals
electronic
response nodes
about to burst
the high energy
always hearty
I simply
crave a bowl
of soup.
Alphabet soup,
please. Perhaps a
crock of beef barley
or a consommé broth.
Turkey chili.
Mushroom medley.
Noodles and spaghetti.
Chicken and stars.
We check our lists
Lists checked
twice. Check
out purveyors.
Purchases nice.
Quests for
the curious.
Gifts for all
even the mice.
My list
is simple. Simply
not. A one-
ingredient recipe.
I’d like to
book a ticket
to Mars.
I hear it’s possible
this time some
(next) year.
A gift like no
other. A one-way
ticket
out of Here.
The distance
between Here
and There
simply fine
print. Print
in twelve-point
ink.
Every day a test
markers
of yards gained
fouls made
shoppers and soldiers trained
we test
we purchase
we market
(unable to rest)
in cardboard
boxes and red bows
we package
rest
Fitbits and Sleep Trackers.
Wristwatches and Ring Watchers.
A perennial quest
For the original.
Succulent blooms. Garden gnomes.
Fried eggs and ham. Canned spam.
Advertisements promising
out-of-the-park plans.
With news and survival
a daily contest
like summer carnival
wheels
and games of chance
wrong season
the soup needs more seasoning
Red tinsel
Silver stars
Green wreaths
Each of us characters
in/on/of a movie reel
With so many hues
all subscribers
owed
dues
it’s most important
to remember
that for many
this is a season
of blue hues
About the Poem
As sales, solicitations, and good-natured occasions proliferate in in-boxes, on cells, and in community halls, I hesitate and take care to remember that amidst the colors of the season, blue hues sometimes predominate.
About the Author
Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, works, and writes in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania.