The Wonson Twins. c.1846. ~ Moses B. Russell

FOUR HOURS

What to do with four hours
in chilly weather 
Follow Chuang Tzu
read the night before
"Let your mind wander
in simplicity..."*

First Dylan wants 
shootouts names himself
several players from
various teams
achieves tremendous
excitement with his scores
Did you see that?
Did you see that move?
Yar it was me you scored on

Dylan's turn with the iPad
games finds Riley restless
Want to wash the kitchen floor?
You who love pushing 
the Wet Jet button  Yah!
Riley sprays half a dozen spots
says he will scrub later
Yah!  Out of liquid 
Fetch another jet  from upstairs 
Out of energy
Leave them in Damon's
Computer Room

Riley asks for eggs wants more
eats less has an urge
for Butterfinger
so the boys race next door
with an unneeded key
limited to one dollar each
which Dylan gives Riley
who claims Eli stole
forty dollars from his bank

O K take dogs along
insist on walking the whole
block up Tucker
O you eat the chocolate first?
Yah   It's really good this way
I got a Kit Kat Bar!
Guess what my favorite
candy is!  Kit Kat   Yah
Riley asks for batting practice
O K thinking it will be short
lasted two hours in yesterday's 
warm sweatshirt weather 
Dylan thanked me I loved 
pitching buckets of tennis balls
ducking as the hits fired
from aluminum bats
which wintered in 
the outdoor toy box
under a yard of snow
catching  and batting 
gloves inside
on October steps

Riley says he doesn't really
want to do that is bored
Is Sata bored?  Yup
What can we do?
Learn poker?  Yahtzee
is a preliminary 
Go ask D to print poker directions 
Sata to the attic looks for Yahtzee
Dylan goes to call Mum
says she will be home 
in five minutes
Find Yahtzee which is 
a good challenge 

Directions for poker
will take a dozen pages!
No No   Just ask 
for beginning poker
Two pages
You only left me one bottle 
The other one has fluid
needs batteries   
O

Discover that Riley
who has memorized
some multiplication and division
of the fancy Core Mathematics
tutored by Grandfather Ph.D
for the two day examinations
coming this week
cannot add a column of numbers
What about addition?
What use is the elaborate math
for the practical tower
of numbers which will tell
who wins the game?

Riley calls Mum
says she will be home
in half an hour
Riley takes the iPad
Dylan plays Yahtzee
Sata wins everything
not knowing that the next
morning Riley will
score two Yahtzees
earn one hundred
and fifty points!

Mumma does come
In time for a ninety minute
walk to the end of
Bianchini Road
so sweet with south
easterly stung cheeks
and a tired chihuahua 


*Chuang Tzu, Basic Writings, Burton Watson, trans., Columbia University Press,
N Y, 1966, p.91


Melissa de Haan Cummings
8 April 2015

Melissa de Haan Cummings majored in French and English Literature at 
Bryn Mawr. She has published poetry in a number of journals. 
 She describes her interests as including, “much small boating around Cape
 Ann, love of Charles Olson, Hatha yoga practice since 1969.”