Seeking the silver lining in 2025
with the single-mindedness of Arthur’s knights
on the quest for the grail,
I locate aluminum in the kitchen drawer.
OK!
Like moms have done for centuries,
I’ll make do.

I tear a sheet of that silver lining
and hold for dear life. I squeeze the foil
so hard, it crimps in my fists.

Did it occur to Arthur’s knights,
I wonder as I cling, to ask their wives?
“Hey honey, have you seen the … ?”
A dozen men who couldn’t find keys
or ketchup clanking around the kingdom
searching for a cup. Little wonder
the company failed. No one to ask them when they’d last seen
the grail, to suggest they check their pockets
or the kitchen drawer.
That’s where hope lives, Arthur: In the darkness,
waiting. It looks mundane or worthless, but it’s tough.
You can use it to make swords.