Dear Jacket zipper

Dear Jacket Zipper

dear jacket zipper that never fully zips down,
why must you torture me so?
whenever I am about to take you off,
why must you suddenly go cross-eyed and hackneyed? 
so I must try, in vain, to unzip, again, and again, 
your meaning all the way down?

it's almost like
with omnipresent glee,
you'll make me struggle,
as I try to match this sudden and absurd festivity.

I'll zip up and down, up and down,
compulsively punctuating the monotony with muttered curses and swears.
I'll gather looks from strangers like some loon escaped, 
struggling in their straight-jacket,
and cursing at the unseen. 

....Whatever, I don't care, let them stare.
You challenged me from the very first wear.

....but this is our umpteenth, our unknownth, time of such a dance, 
and in our enduring carol, you have grown brittle and thus broken,
and in our end, you fell to the ground without so much a sound.

...

dearest jacket zipper, 
you have taught me so much
about life.

01/04/16
M. L. Michael

---

About…