The Serving Hatch

(pours Kahlúa)

Nothing bad

comes through a

serving hatch.

One Saturday afternoon,

many Button Moons ago,

I remember my granny

handing me a cup

of He-Man-coloured tea

and a Blue Riband wafer

and the fact of

       the act of

her passing me

this small snack

through the sainted hatch

added an extra 50%

to my enjoyment

of the episode of Happy Days

I was watching

at the time:

The couch became comfier.

The Fonz even cooler.

The world seemed a bit better

for that simple, thoughtful gesture.

(fast forward to a post-Brexit landscape,

a dystopia populated by Neanderthals

dragging blue tattooed knuckles

across petrol station forecourts...)

It occurs to me that

what the world needs now

is a great big serving hatch -

a hole in the artificial wall

(that we are told protects us all)

permitting the steady flow of gifts

from those generous enough to give them

to those wise enough to know their worth

while the child of consciousness

awaits rebirth.

B.R. 27.09.2021