‘Lights out’

The lights went out last night even though we

paid the bill. We lit the candles and played

a card game like the old days, with no heat

‘til it got too cold. We did a charade

to guess what word each other was but no

one guessed. Little things like that cause no fuss

in our household. Tall white candles aglow,

down jackets zipped up and lots to discuss.

We make do with what we’ve got and

wait for the power to come on again at dawn,

relying on what games we create or

what talks we had, games played or pictures drawn.

We can make do with our wits without lights

The old days still excite with some delights.

Barry Riedel

La Cañada Flintridge