November 2015
Bruce Dethlefsen
poetdethlefsen@gmail.com
Funny how some little filler in the newspaper becomes an on ramp for a poem...  www.brucedethlefsen.com

Company

​
there’s this hotel in seattle that’ll
send up a goldfish in a glass fishbowl
if you’re a guest confessing loneliness
the only thing is you have to feed it
and name it something good and meaningful
sorry goldie and russell wilson are
already taken     so’s boing boing

consider calling him heart on my sleeve
what a loser I am is a nice name
or woe betide or my little pity
hey you can always choose goodbye cruel world
or nobody really understands me

feed him     turn off the tv for a while
commit to spending some quality time
just you guys swimming in the goldfish bowl
remember there are two sides to the glass
and you could really use the company

when you’re done with your work in seattle
and when you’re packed up and ready to fly
back home to kansas city by yourself
say goodbye to misery and mean it
leave him swimming upright in his fishbowl
on the checkout counter at the front desk


©2015 Bruce Dethlefsen