Slumping here in my swivel chair,
Back aching from hours of inertia,
I can sail my mind around the world
On the stuff at my fingertips.
Lots from China: baskets, tools,
My coffee cup; from India
A richly carved wooden box
I hide my pushpins in;
From Germany a precise alarm
I use to schedule noon-hour naps;
Japan my PC CPU;
Sweden my sturdy stapler;
France a Bic with tinte bleu;
Australia a jar of stomach pills;
West Africa the cacao in the cocoa;
Banana from Honduras;
Bright Post-it flags from Mexico . . .
All tangible reminders
That this evidently isolated room
Is anchored in the universe outside.
The photo shows the room I am talking about in this poem from
years ago when I still worked at corporate headquarters in Irving.
Back when computers had white keyboards and I used a white mouse.
Note that I have several poems posted on my wall,
perhaps even including this one.
Note the wall phone with a cord.
But I'm sure it had pushbuttons and not a dial.
The brilliant poet Billy Collins wrote a poem
"Sailing Alone Around the Room"
that inspired me to try this
Click on the author's byline for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.
This issue appears in the ezine at www.pencilstubs.com and also in the blog www.pencilstubs.net with the capability of adding comments at the latter.
