An ordinary day
I was born without you, baby,
And when I first saw you
My heart shivered and hopped,
My palms grew sweaty,
And the sky was a sepia photograph.
Words fell like inky tears,
Milk curdled in my fridge,
Newsprint suddenly turned to yellow,
And the library called in all my books.
The moon became like blood,
The wind screamed its pain,
Mountains shifted,
And seawater lost its briny edge.
Planes flew astray,
All the birds flew south at once,
The polar ice caps shivered,
And girls donned long cotton gloves.
Nurses changed to black,
The ground liquefied,
Long black clouds hovered near,
And sea mammals beached themselves in droves.
Unemployment spiked,
Inmates rioted in front of children,
My neighbor plastinated his own organs,
And farm animals spoke in human voices.
Jews and Arabs feasted on ham,
Mother Superior became an octomom,
Headstones toppled,
And the Olympic Games were cancelled forever.
Farmland turned to desert,
Traffic lights froze on red,
Fuses blew in every home,
And cooks everywhere suddenly burned their fingers.
Rock bands turned to Country,
Rivers reversed their courses,
Bears roamed near seeking berries,
And the Pope announced he’s gay.
The sun set unexpectedly,
The stars gave up their twinkle,
Public TV turned Commercial,
And I outgrew all my clothes.
Letter carriers went on strike,
Public education budgets were slashed,
My credit cards were stolen,
And the surviving Beatles reunited
Singing that I’ll die without you, too.