A poem about Trader Joe’s stampedes, fear and toilet paper

Twas March 15, friends

And I hit Trader Joes

For snacks and for drinks

Heck, I thought they were closed

There were just a few people

But I soon find out why

There was nary a noodle

To be found there inside

Only a few apples left

And of course Two Buck Chuck

But toilet paper, you say?

Nope, you’re shit out of luck

I didn’t freak out much

It’s not as if I

Couldn’t wash with a rag

And a bucket of Tide

But what bummed me out most

About this great food stampede

Was the Buckets of Gimme

And the Bottles of Greed

It must be nice for some folks

That feel good about stealth

But not everyone’s wallet

Has that kind of wealth

Look: Some friends I know

Not too different from me

Live paycheck to paycheck

(And these folks have degrees!)

As I sauntered the aisles

And tried not to sneeze

I got so very sad

At our nation… you see

We don’t just have a virus

That we can’t seem to manage

We also have fear

Which can cause equal damage

If instead of just thinking

About ourselves and our kin

What if we let love

Stir us from within?

What if we took what we needed

A few weeks… nothing more

Then there’d be plenty of bread

For old folks at the store

There’d be chocolate for me

There’d be wine for my friends

And there’d be plenty of TP

For each other’s rear ends

So, while I can’t cure the food deal

I at least can commit

To not scrounging it all

In a me-me-me fit

My friends, I do beg you

As freaked as you feel

Is to honor your fear

But remember what’s real:

We can smile and laugh

We can sing in the streets

We can still go for hikes

(Until they quarantine streets)

How ‘bout we remember this virus

That ripped through the equator

As one of our world’s

Most profound educators…

… as a professor that taught us

While it’s scary some days

We still have each other

And we’ll all be okay.

(I promise. Be kind, people)

Until next time,

My book is available on Amazon. (Note: It’s a special ed journey… your kid doesn’t need to have Tourettes to relate!) Follow me on Twitter@AndreaFrazerWrites or on Facebook. )

sss

It’s Writing Wednesday so I’m going to share a poem I’ve written. I aim to include it in my poem book, along with 100 more that I wrote while subbing 100 days for LA Unified School District. (Hey, if I’m dealing with crazy middle schoolers I’m going to make it work for me! As I heard someone say, “I aspire to inspire before I expire.”

With that in mind, my goal is to get an agent that needs Shel Silverstein meets Dr. Seuss meets a bit of Judy Blume and all Andrea Frazer.

So, without further adieu, here’s one of my older ones. Next week will be one from this year.

Pink Umbrella

Mom said kids might laugh at me

And even cause a scuffle

If I took this umbrella to school with me

It’s pink (and it has a ruffle)

“Honey,” she said, “You know I don’t care

But since you’re a boy… some kids might stare

So here’s a tip that is tried and true:

Be prepared for an answer that works for you.”

My mom’s pretty sharp so I thought of an answer

‘Bout why boys could wear pink and could sing and be dancers

So when Markus asked, “Dude, why are you carrying THAT?”

I said, “Friend, can’t you see that some girls don’t have hats?

I don’t want their hair-do’s to get wet in the rain

So I’ll walk them to class and they’ll never complain.”

And then while he stood there, kind of biting his lips

I decided to get one more thing in real quick

“My papa says girls like boys who can groove

So if I save their hair then one day you’ll see, Dude,

That I’ll have a date to any dance that I please”

And then something happened that you wouldn’t believe

At school the next day… under those rainy day showers

Marcus brought an umbrella – it was purple… with flowers

Leave a link to one of your writings and comment below. I’d love to learn about you!

My book is available on Amazon. (Note: It’s a special ed journey… your kid doesn’t need to have Tourettes to relate!) Follow me on Twitter@AndreaFrazerWrites or on Facebook. )

(Note: It’s a special ed journey… your kid doesn’t need to have Tourettes to relate!) Follow me on Twitter@AndreaFrazerWrites or on Facebook.

books

Category: poems

Ode to Covid 19