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Is there a proper blessing for the sliders?
[Why do I always feel a little nauseous saying "sliders"?] While I'm not exactly recommending the 2017 movie Brigsby Bear, one line has stuck with me over the years. It features a wacky family with a solid ritual blessing: "May our minds be stronger tomorrow." I think that works for Lent! |
Sometimes when things don't go as planned, you just have to turn your day of misadventures into a kind of lyrical poem! I decided to use the format devised by poet & professor Joseph J. Benevento: "A dozen or so years ago, I invented a form of poetry called the "After" poem; it had very simple rules, the title of the poem had to start with the word "after," and there would be 26 lines, 5, 5 line stanzas and a one line coda."
After Our Lunch Manqué
We’ve enjoyed better. Food was mediocre.
One of us had a bum scratchy throat.
Another was sleep-deprived,
with little rest the night before,
and a missed morning class.
We all wondered if we should call and cancel
and sleep it off but vetoed the idea.
Because we wanted a normal day, didn't want
to bow out of lunch and rest a spell.
Was our determination misguided?
The waiter was obnoxious and unsubtle.
We could not sit where we wanted.
The light was low; the shades were down,
yet somehow still an inescapable glare
pervaded the room, negating eye contact.
Even so, nice to see all y'all.
Perhaps next time will be better,
an evening meal rather than lunch.
We'll go out and get our extra sauce, and
"in that space" we'll see our lives "really start to open up."
Benediction: "Stay the course.
Continue your Lenten fast and other spiritual disciplines.
Work the garden, enjoy the grands.
Safe travels to the men,
and keep it down during the hen party!
And every other good thing."
Many thanks to Ed Tourangeau
for providing the bulk of this text!