the last day on earth as I prepared for work
I lost my balance while pouring the milk for the cereal
so that a whole carton of milk I just bought yesterday
sloshed out over the freshly mopped floor
then I snagged the stray thread on my skirt
so that the entire hem ripped out
but only on one side and while looking for
a safety pin in my purse I stabbed myself with
a large open one and then the phone started
ringing and someone was at the door
and the neighbor's dog got loose in the garden
and started eating all the flowers frenziedly
and that's how I knew the end was nigh
because that dog never had a taste for flowers
up till now and then the thunderstorms rolled in
with the tornados that just wouldn't quit and someone
threw a brick through the side door and broke in
stealing all the emergency supplies
and the police, the C.I.A., the S.B.I. were at the door
in a case of mistaken identity
and hauled me off to hq at the same time I had
left something cooking on the stove, or in the oven,
and there I was in full view of all the neighbors who
had come outside to gaze at the approaching asteroid
and me with my hem dragging down in certain places
being taken downtown
while they all went inside to their basements
brought out the cake and refreshments for the party
to which they hadn't invited me anyway
and just before the tsunami wave rose to cover the
whole earth, the dog died, slipping on the spilled milk,
and I woke up,
glad to be still alive
mary angela douglas 13 august 2016
I lost my balance while pouring the milk for the cereal
so that a whole carton of milk I just bought yesterday
sloshed out over the freshly mopped floor
then I snagged the stray thread on my skirt
so that the entire hem ripped out
but only on one side and while looking for
a safety pin in my purse I stabbed myself with
a large open one and then the phone started
ringing and someone was at the door
and the neighbor's dog got loose in the garden
and started eating all the flowers frenziedly
and that's how I knew the end was nigh
because that dog never had a taste for flowers
up till now and then the thunderstorms rolled in
with the tornados that just wouldn't quit and someone
threw a brick through the side door and broke in
stealing all the emergency supplies
and the police, the C.I.A., the S.B.I. were at the door
in a case of mistaken identity
and hauled me off to hq at the same time I had
left something cooking on the stove, or in the oven,
and there I was in full view of all the neighbors who
had come outside to gaze at the approaching asteroid
and me with my hem dragging down in certain places
being taken downtown
while they all went inside to their basements
brought out the cake and refreshments for the party
to which they hadn't invited me anyway
and just before the tsunami wave rose to cover the
whole earth, the dog died, slipping on the spilled milk,
and I woke up,
glad to be still alive
mary angela douglas 13 august 2016
