EGG SALAD SURPRISE
It was disconcerting at the family reunion last fall
when I stirred the egg salad and spotted a fishy, little thing
that looked a little bit like an eyeball
I was even more amazed when I wiped away the mayonnaise,
like a sculptor with a spoon, and what seemed to be taking place
was an unveiling of details of a full human face
"Oh, my God...", I cried, "It can't be true!
Aunt Edna - is that you?"
I was even more surprised when Aunt Edna popped open her eyes.
I knew that people could get a bit funny when they start to get old,
but what was Aunt Edna doing in the salad bowl?
I felt dizzy and my knees were weak, when Aunt Edna started to speak
I said, "Aunt Edna, are you quite completely OK?"
She replied "Oh my, isn't this a perfectly lovely day?"
I said, "Are you coping OK, after your husband died last year?"
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I thought that in the egg salad, I saw the streak of a tear.
In the midst of tragedy, we must count our blessings
The tear had turned into a drop of vinaigrette salad dressing
I asked if her meager pension was keeping up with inflation
and what did she think about the entire, world situation?
She droned on about her preferences in potato salad
which seemed a little bit finicky and fickle,
how she liked it with little bits of onion, real bacon, and pickle.
How she had plenty of extra hot dog rolls,
and did I know that her granddaughter was a student on the honor roll?
Concerning her own shopping skills, she heaped endless praise,
How she saved 75 cents at Walgreens, on double coupon days
For a woman who might soon be meeting the Grim Reaper
and might as well, for all intents and purposes,
have been sentenced to the gallows,
it seemed to me that she was being a tad bit shallow
But then it occurred to me, as I carefully studied
the yellow egg yolk all over her face
that to her, the egg-salad bowl had become
a kind of hiding-place
It was not that her mind had exactly failed
She found comfort by immersing herself
in familiar trivialities and mundane details
So I sighed...
Now with a better understanding of her need,
as to the lovely day and deliciousness of the egg salad,
I quietly and politely agreed.
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