What I had
in mind
was this
beautiful gift:
a fabulous
joyful pillow,
artsy and clever
bunched roses
in fabric made
of a silvery
soft cloth,
something fey
and perfect
for a designer
like my Mom,
so it arrived
as promised,
although
larger than
expected, but
very fine
nevertheless,
and I assembled
the cover and
pillow to make
her gift just right,
couldn’t wait
to see the sight
of that smiling
face, Christmas Eve
and all, but when
she opened it, (last
and most anticipated
present under the tree)
she showed another
kind of glee: something
tickled her fancy,
made her laugh, not
once or twice (that
would have been nice)
but instead an
eruption of howls
came forth, silly
giggling, laughing
chortling, until
we all were in tears
and she the most,
it was a toast to
a misplaced humor,
for a few minutes
she forgot about
everything except
how funny that
pillow is, so although
this was not the
concept I intended
it ended in the
SWEETEST CALL:
TICKLE
TICKLE, after all.

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 1/1/11