You have your game-face on again;
The don’t-mess-with-me face that comes
With its own combative attitude.
Not pleased with being pleased,
You seem incapable of a smile;
Not a cheek-aching, ab-cramping,
Incontinent belly-laugh,
But something as simple as a smile.
Can you scowl in the presence
Of a four year old wearing
A Halloween costume
With cape?
Can you frown under the patient,
Steady, brown-eyed stare of a
Labrador coveting
Your plate?
Have you forgotten how to savor
The simple strawberry?
The story goes, a man in India,
While walking through the woods,
Encountered a tiger.
Well, being a wise man,
And quite astute,
He precipitously turned
And fled.
The tiger, with his own degree
Of wisdom and perspicacity,
And with a feline sense of humor,
Gave chase,
Until the man came to a cliff and jumped;
No blink, no pause, just a leap,
And falling, grabbed onto a sapling.
Hanging there, feet dangling
(Like a participle)
With one fist wrapped
Around the most paltry of sprigs,
The man spotted a strawberry
Growing nearby
Which he immediately picked
And ate.
It was a most delicious strawberry.
Gary Witt
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-most-delicious-strawberry/
