Pandamic Poems

The following poems started out as one poem.  The humorus Shortage Gold began to write itself during a visit to the restroom at work, but quickly turned more serious as I fleshed it out later that night.  Then a problem presented itself: I wanted to end the poem upbeat, with a photo I took.  Try as I might, I could not envision the segue from serious to upbeat.

After several days struggling to force the poems into what I thought they should be, I finally gave in and allowed them to be who they wrote themselves to be individually: 

Shortage Gold and Enough! 

The title Enough! can be taken several ways:  Enough! of the crazy-panic.   Or,  we have Enough! for everyone if we practice being good neighbors and citizens.

Without further ado here are Shortage Gold and Enough!  I hope they are entertaining and perhaps thought provoking.


Shortage Gold
I stopped by the work bathroom
and what did my eyes  see?
Treasure more precious than silver or gold--
'twas a partial roll of TP!


Enough!
In the age of COVID-19:
The latest Pandamic Scare--
I went to  shop for groceries
but alas the shelves were bare.

The hoarders panic-purchased
every item in the store--
even with pantries full at home
they felt the need to buy more.

The Psychology of Scarcity
fans the flames of panic-fire:
Since we are amassing goods
the situation must be dire.

You buy a pallet of diapers
so I require at least three.
No matter that I have no babes
it's my jerk-reacting knee.

Next comes our dear sweet neighbor
whose twins truly have a need
but nary a diaper is found
due to our panic-driven greed.

By buying only what we need
we leave products on the shelves
so neighbors can get necessities 
and we feel better about ourselves.

We're all in this together folks.
There's plently if we just share.
If you do your part, and I do mine
store shelves will be full gain--not bare.

Meeting The Girls and Making a Decision

I went to meet KatiE and Kennzie at their FurParents grooming shop in the hopes that one might bond with me. I knew it might not happen. After all, it had taken Bandit several days.  On the other paw, Spike, Bandit's Dad, nicknamed Devil Dog because he didn't like people, was the first dog of his 9-dog pack to hop onto my lap and give me doggie kisses. Go figure. Anyway,  I knew The Girls and I might not bond quickly--or even at all.  Yikes! Dogs can be aloof, especially when they know they are being watched. Or when they know you want them desperately to like you. So I  went to meet The Girls with a tad bit of trepidation of my own. 

As I feared might happen, just like with Bandit, The Girls did not bond with me right away. 

It took them about two minutes.

After about an hour, I was also privileged to meet KatiE's 6-week old litter (all spoken for), and they gave me kisses.  Even the unrelated pups being groomed seemed to be smitten with me.  I hadn't even resorted to rubbing jerky on my hands and face, although honestly, I had considered it.  But I figured that wouldn't fly in the long run, or something horribly I Love Lucy-ish  would happen and the humans would see through it all.  

As it was, the humans seemed to approve of me as well.  And I?   I was in Chinese Crested Heaven. The FurParents didn't even ask about my prepared references. The Girls and The Litter became my references. 

From the pre-meeting photos I had been  drawn to Kennzie.  She is slate and grey  like Bandit, but with much fuller furnishings.  Her daughter KatiE, a little black and white girl, has my same B-day, and the sweetest soulful gaze.   I couldn't make a desicion based on the photos alone, so Plan A was to meet The Girls and see if I clicked with either.

Plan A was no help--they were both so sweet and adorrable, now I wanted them both!  And, because of the precious puff in The Litter,  I was now rethinking my Puff-less stance--of course, a Puff would have to be a much more future addition since this little one was already spoken for.  That's when Brandi threw in a Plan B.

Due to scheduling difficulties and a major medical issue their family was dealing with, my meet and greet with The Girls had been postponed several weeks. Brandi had recently  lost one of her males in a freak anaphelectic accident. He too was an AKC Champion.  He was also her favorite. She felt about him like I felt about Bandit. He was her heart.  He was also related to The Girls, and the day before our appointment, one of the girls had come into season.  As fate would have it, his Sire was also available. Brandi wanted to pull her from the sale and breed her one last time in hopes of reproducing another champ. If successful, she would not be available for spaying until the summer. If they did not conceive, she could be ready late next month.

However, because, I had been talking with Brandi and her Husband for several weeks, waiting patiently for a Meet and Greet with The Girls, Brandi was willing to honor my decision if I wanted one of the girls now. She left the decision up to me.

I of course could only make one decision.

She has to try to reproduce another litter and hope for another little champ.  I tell myself it's the right thing to do. It's what I'd want if it was Bandit.  I'm not a patient waiter by nature; however, since this was the right decision I've been at peace with it.  Even though it means waiting. Which, BTW means I have been waiting. Which I'm not really good at doing.  Did you know that?  But I'm learning. Really.  I am.  I mean, I haven't even googled to see if they sell doggie pregnancy tests and how quickly they can be used. Or how accurate they are. Or....

Yet. 😉