I ran through Green Concourse
trying to reunite the old man
with his walking cane before
he boarded but the jet was already
backing away bound for Honolulu,
a baggage handler in kneepads
and protective ear gear waving it
backward with bright orange batons.
I worried for the poor guy’s balance.
Didn’t know what to do. Thought of
Gene Kelly dancing in Parisian rain
with an umbrella, which didn’t help.
Thought of that valentine delivered
five days late that year I’d fallen so far
in love, apparently the other not
so much. Of ordering filet mignon
then realizing the coupon wasn’t good
any longer. The woman who said
she’d take the empty garden plot but
by the time she got everything going,
the growing season was two-thirds over.
It went to weeds, mostly. Flowers
on her tomato plants, yes, in August,
but not enough time for them to turn
into something you could sink your teeth into
before a hard frost hit toward the middle
of September, early.

Jan Carroll’s recent book, Enough of a Path to Get Through, is available at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire. Visit her website at jancarrollpoetryetc.net.