Serving Orders At Brother’s Foods
Nael reviewed his weekly order
with the rep from Friedman Tobacco,
and I waited my turn.
What’s the rush when I’m on the clock? And watching
my favorite cartoon. Humpty Dumpty’s on the TV
at the checkout and I love him.
He struts in a garden to jaunty music. Dapper and
contented, but then he aspires, his eyes grow wider!
We see him form the idea to climb the wall.
He’s not built for this. It’s awkward.
Yet he attains the top. He did it!
Humpty Dumpty – modest and lovable –
for a joyful heartbeat or two he’s comfortable.
Till he starts losing his balance and can’t get it back.
As the sales rep strains (tripped by the way Nael pronounces
Rain Blo), Humpty Dumpty bends forward,
leans backwards, overcorrects, wobbles and goes over.
The “O” of disappointment (or worse) as the cracks appear...
Then the king’s horses and the king’s men... Last frame,
one of the king’s men is cross-legged on the ground
trying to fit Humpty Dumpty’s jagged pieces together. In vain.
That’s it. That’s enough. That’s us.
About the Author: Sue Blaustein is the author and publisher of “In the Field, Autobiography of an Inspector” (2018) and chapbooks “The Beer Line” (2022) and “All the Secrets Around Me” (2025). In 2016 she retired after 25 years as a food safety inspector for the Milwaukee Health Department. More information and poems can be found at http://www.sueblaustein.com.
Image Credit: William Penhallow Henderson “Humpty Dumpty (costume design for Alice-in-Wonderland)” (1915) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 