You Can’t Have It All

But you can have the wind
And its push like a supporting friend that keeps you going.
You can have the glare of a four-month-old puppy,
It’s pure innocence.
You can have a day off from work when you’re sick
And waste it doing nothing.
You can have a mean sister when you’re young,
And a nice sister when you’re older.
You can have a great Saturday with your friends,
And a lousy Monday with the same people.
You can have a hot pizza,
Dripping with cheese,
And regret that you didn’t wait for the scorching food to cool off.
You can have a game of basketball,
Where you miss every shot,
And enjoy the whole match.
You can fall from your bike onto a pile of mud,
And simply laugh it off.
You can have a homework assignment,
Which will take you hours to do,
And spend the day sleeping and watching TV.
You can have your heart melt with a video of a puppy on YouTube,
Like chocolate in a microwave.
You can spend a week trekking in the mountains,
With great views of the Himalayas,
And the highlight is coming home to your warm bed.
You can have your heart broken by somebody thousands of times,
And mended by someone else.
You can have these things and many more,
But can you exceed your stock and store?

Nugget – Benjamin Moore AC-9

I breathe the air of this desolate diner,
And trudge upon it’s dusty base.
No other restaurant was any finer,
Than my daddy’s favorite place.

We went there twice a week,
And ordered the same thing.
Talked to the waitress with the rosy cheek,
As my daddy took off his wedding ring.

The white floor was now gray with dust,
The sand now covered my daddy’s leaving ground,
The one where he left me,
I wish he’d stayed around.

They dubbed me what I ate,
Every time I went.
I ordered and didn’t hesitate,
And only she would have it sent.
She would bring me the plate,
Of those golden nuggets,
I’d eat it all as they would confabulate,
In the end it seemed unreal.

The white floor was now gray with dust,
The sand now covered my daddy’s leaving ground,
The one where he left me,
I wish he’d stayed around.

He told me was going,
He told me not where he would dwell,
He left without me knowing,
He smiled and wished me well.

I sat in my booth for what seemed my entire life,
Trying to figure out what I had done wrong,
I carved his name into the table with my knife,
And left crying.

Now, revisiting the place of my childhood shame,
I scanned the vacant room and at the booth I gazed,
And saw my daddy’s name,
But I stepped back and shook my head, amazed.
I sat down on the floor crying as I saw what had been written.
Right under my daddy’s name was one word.
Nugget.

No other restaurant was finer,
Than my daddy’s favorite place.