For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) Day;” replace the blank
with a word or phrase; make the new phrase the title of your poem
Tis November-twenty-something and all through the store
Dash shoppers with carts filled with goodies galore
The stuffing, the taters, bread, cheese, munchies, booze
A new tablecloth, gaudy balls, spike-heeled shoes
Quick glances at cell-phones then frantic ‘oh mys’
Clean the house-decorate-make-and-bake-pumpkin-pies
Make sure we all have clean shirts-skirts-pants etcetera
‘Make a memory’ by doing at least one thing together-yeah!
Hurry home, unload stuff, hang up laundry to dry
Flip out at little Tommy who has no idea why
Blast into the bedroom, chuck junk in a corner
Zip into the closet for the vacuum cleaner
Down the stairs, up the stairs, phone rings…she can’t…
On second thought, she better; it might be important
What, What?! You forgot to order the turkey?!
Well kids, looks like dinner will be good old beef-jerky
Nope. Back-track to Walmart for a frozen bird
Crowds crowd every aisle, dazed yet undeterred
Looking for things lists have not seen before
A big orange whopple-glop to hang on the door
A glitzy itsy-bitsy filled with ‘stale crunch’ to eat
A centerpiece too big to fit in the back seat
And branches from a sort of pine-treeish-looking thing
Tortured with fake holly berries and red and green string
It’s nudge-push-shove , yes, I blush now just to tell it
People clinging to crushed ads of You-Want-It-We-Sell-It
Only to hear at the end of their wild-goose trek
…sorry, we’re sold out until next year; rain-check?
Now the weary get wearier, the greedy, greedier
While the spenders get spendier and the needy, needier
And tempers are quickened and nerves put on edge
Mother trips on the carpet, Dad backs into the hedge
And out on the streets voices are raised in anger
Because someone caught texting caused a fender-bender
And now everybody is worked up and riled
They pocket their phones ‘yes, it coulda been a child’
Meanwhile, mentally reaffirming while they’re still alive
That today was the last day they would text and drive
…then its back to the house but straight out the back door
Better stay clear of this yearly kitchen uproar
I, baffled beyond logical explanation
Decided to find out just ‘what in 'tarnation’
In a world of quick-stops, on line shops, self-check-outs
What is all this frenzied, hyper-rush about?
...and you could have heard a pin drop when this Canadian asked it
Jaws fell, so did apples from a dropped apple basket
Why, have you not heard, someone turned to say
You better hurry for tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day
© Janet Martin
written entirely for humor-value...well, almost.
I'm Canadian so the only rush we have here are those falling prey to Red and Black Friday-sale decoys dangling on every cyber-street corner;-))
and every store window.
Happy Day Before Thanksgiving Day, dear American Friends
