One Saturday Night

My shopping cart is empty.
I’m browsing, looking, hoping
to find something interesting,
something I think I need,
maybe the excuse of a gift
for someone but no one I know
is having a birthday/anniversary
soon, no holidays approaching
worthy of a gift.

I deserve a present, a shiny, sparkly,
glittering thing that I can put on a shelf
and admire. But, it would be better
if it had a function, a reason
for being here, the answer to
what is my purpose, what am I
supposed to be doing
other than shopping.

Am I ignoring a talent I don’t know
I have, a calling, an artistic flare
for contemporary design, perhaps
for upcycling to save our planet,
crafting, building, writing –
but I don’t feel an inclination.

I move to cookware but already,
all the complications of tools
makes me woozy. Rice cookers
when I don’t often make rice,
air fryers stymie me – no oil
to make crisp french fries seems
occultish, and hundreds of models
of Keurigs makes me want to swear
off coffee.

Housewares, no; bedding, nothing
I need. No dogs or cats, no kids
or grandkids, not even a goldfish…
but they don’t sell fish and anyway,
it’s lots of work cleaning the water
and remembering to feed it.

Ok, so my shopping cart remains
as empty as my life. I guess I’ll log off
and play another boring game of solitaire.

~ J R Turek
June 26, 2021 Hour 6