"Surprises"

[A meditation on the expected & unexpected—& how these morph over time—by Carmen Leone. Enjoy!]

Surprises

In simpler times,
surprises seemed simpler:
friends dropping in,
finding exactly what you were looking for at half the price,
discovering a classic in the second feature
when you went for the main attraction.
Today, when such things happen,
they seem normal, almost expected.

Today, my surprises seem monumental,
almost always jarring:
Marriages go under.
Devout acquaintances have affairs.
A major institution goes belly-up,
Major melt-downs happen
to people and things
I was sure I could count on,
like banks
and friends,
and myself.

                                                                                                                  OCT 4/09

Carmen Leone
© 2009-the present