Poems by Cynthia C. Naspinski

You betrayed me.

While I went about my days,
Blithely oblivious,
You kept your dark secret.
It festered, insidious.

Had I missed any signs
Of your covert activity;
Too smug in my assumptions
And foolish naivety?

Once the truth was revealed,
I was left reeling.
Didn't know how to process
All that I was feeling.

Your treachery was exposed,
Examined, excised.
Though tough times ensued,
I got on with my life.

Now I keep watch for signs,
Another smoking gun.
This breakdown in trust
Can't be undone.

I want to go back
to being carefree,
But cancer has stolen
That innocence from me.

I can't look at you the same,
There are scars that remain.
You betrayed me once,
Will you do it again?

Have you noticed that your husband suffers from a strange affliction
That will most often affect him in the bedroom or the kitchen?
Though you must try hard to treat him with compassion and with kindness,
It is really quite the challenge dealing with Domestic Blindness.

At the fridge, has he stood grumbling that there isn't any cheese,
Then you've reached around to pluck it out as easy as you please?
And perhaps you've walked away and then overheard him mutter -
"How am I meant to find something that's hid behind the butter?"

Does he stare into his sock drawer and cast his eyes about
As if waiting for the pair he seeks to levitate right out?
You see, this weird condition may not just affect his eyes,
For his arms and hands will often dangle useless at his sides.

Have you asked him to please fetch you something from the pantry shelf,
To have him take so long that you must go look for yourself?
Have you stood beside him wond'ring how he hasn't yet caught sight
Of the item, front and centre, on the shelf at his eye height?

Does the can opener elude him, or the clippers for his nails?
Does his gaze slide past the shirt he seeks hanging on the rail?
Much like when he's half listening but you know he isn't hearing,
His eyes seem to be looking but he isn't really seeing.

Does he lay the blame with you for giving faulty information,
If you're off by several inches when you gave him the location?
Or your painstaking description doesn't mesh with what he's seen,
'Cause he insists that grey is blue, what you call blue is green.

We vowed to have and hold our men for better and for worse,
So we try not to belittle them, or chide or mock or curse.
We attempt to bite our tongues and to stifle any sighs
But, of course, we're only human so we'll always roll our eyes.

I tried to write a poem
But I couldn't find the words.
They've taken a vacation
So my poem's been deferred.

They gave no indication
That they wouldn't be around.
No, they just up and left me
And they're nowhere to be found.

This is not the first time
That they've left me in the lurch.
They'll show up when they're ready
So I'm calling off the search.

Perhaps they felt mistreated
And this time they've gone for good,
To find someone who'll craft them
In a way I never could.

I hope they come back to me
And put to rest my fears,
But I think that they've absconded
And made off with my ideas.

A cow and a rooster went dancing
One night by the light of the moon.
They'd arranged to meet in the barnyard
With the crickets providing the tune.

They started off slow with a waltz
And then danced a foxtrot and tango.
They swayed and dipped to the music,
Then went on to do the fandango.

The barn owls enjoying the show,
Soon added some excited hooting.
And to this new beat and rhythm,
They worked in a bit of boot scootin'.

The rooster nailed the chicken dance
And then he moonwalked like a pro.
The cow's belly dance was entrancing
As she shimmied her hips to and fro.

The pace of their dances grew faster.
They were really hitting their grooves.
They battled it out with some krumping,
Then busted some breakdancing moves.

They did the twist and the jitterbug.
They shook, gyrated and jumped.
Dust clouds were rising and feathers were flying.
They wiggled and jiggled and bumped.

The cow and the rooster grew tired
But agreed that they'd had so much fun.
The rooster said he should turn in for the night
Since he had to be up with the sun.

Next morning the farmer was puzzled,
For the rooster was still not awake.
Then he went to the shed to milk all his cows
And one of them gave a milkshake!