Things Found

I found a poem in a book today

It was not put there by the publisher

Or by the author, who happens to be

Neil Gaiman, by the way

It was tucked between pages 70 & 71

In, The Sandman – Season of Mists

And although I didn’t write it I had to

Pass it along – it’s too good not to share

I believe that it is called, “Tapestry” or

“Our Tapestry” or even, as the small

Upside down print on the back says,

“We cross our palms with stars for love”...

here’s our tapestry;

follow each thread,

catch storyful stich.

the reds and golds,

the fires and sparks

that forged us.

the blacks and greys,

the clouds and storms

that overshadowed us.

the purples and blues,

the bruise and tears

that broke us down.

Here’s the white light

for the times we were

saved

here’s the handle;

we turn it to

open a new door

here’s the corner;

we turn it to  

follow a new path

here’s the page,

we turn it to

find a new story

here’s the thing

A life full of turns

has no straight road to

follow

beginning after beginning,

and yet no end in sight.

A loose end here

A loose end there

We gather up the strings;

we weave our own

tapestry

...I stood in the library

With a smile on my face

As the unexpected gift

A discovery unfolded before me

There is no signature

But there is a small drawing of a coy

Fish and a symbol in a corner of the paper

But, to whoever wrote this, I thank you

The magic of things discovered, things found

I find the prose wonderful and, might I add

Much better than anything that this

Humble, pseudo-poet has produced

It made me smile to see it between

The pages of a book by Neil Gaiman

I will replace it as I have found it

For someone else to discover the magic

The DIABEETUS

 

Your liver values are good

So is your blood pressure

Cholesterol too – 171

Said the doctor

But.

Your blood sugar puts you

In the range of having diabetes

Even though your cholesterol is good

It’s now bad

You are now 2X more likely to

Have a heart attack

Said the doctor

But.

You can control this

If you lose weight

With the right diet you may

Be able to get off the

Medication that I’m about

To put you on

Said the doctor

You could consider a gastric bypass

Or lap-band surgery to lose the weight

Does diabetes run in your family?

Asked the doctor

Yes, it runs in the family

I said

Yes, I have helped this process along

I said

And then I grew silent

Lost in my thoughts

It’s not the worst diagnosis

Said the doctor

Believing me stunned by

This turn of events

Oh yes, there are much worse

Diagnoses than this

I said

I was thinking about Wilfred Brimley

Wilfred Brimley?

Yeah, the actor with the

Big beefy moustache

He did a series of commercials

For some medication company

He’s always talking about

‘The Dia-BEETUS’, which

I said in my best impersonation

The doctor laughed

So did I

He & his latest patient with

The Dia-BEETUS

Don’t do that again

Said the doctor