A Poem by Allan Johnston

Watch Out

Watch out for the use of small things. Example: the incident
with the frying pan and the mashed potatoes
or how the wheel unhitched itself from the Hyundai
or how the howling cowboy rides the bomb
at the end of Dr. Strangelove. Each becomes
iconic of a moment’s inattention:
so many opportunities, so many reasons,
so little time. Small things accumulate.
They become the mess inside the pillow
I keep, that in its way undoes the body.
Each one also derives satisfaction
by being unmade. Soon night overwhelms us,
and evening has no meaning. While we are here,
watch for the misuse of small things. Drive with caution.


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