The Offertory
a poem by R. Gerry Fabian
In which we explore the soft, subdued underbelly of life and regain some of our calm.
The Offertory
We always do our laundry together
on Sunday morning around ten.
It’s a religion, perhaps cultish,
but more than just tradition.
Very few words are spoken,
yet it’s more than a library silence.
We observe the allotted time
for each cycle of the ceremony
with more than a handshake respect
for one another’s moods and methods.
He is an old man, somewhere between
has been and gone; but he does not resent it.
His ability to perform this chore
indicates that his wife has been dead a long time.
He is an addict of the Sports page
and devours statistics with muted oaths.
Towards the end, he folds and refolds
and then with just the right amount of dignity,
he borrows a dollar for the candy machine.
Meet the author: R. Gerry Fabian is a published poet and novelist. He has published four books of his published poems, Parallels, Coming Out Of The Atlantic, Electronic Forecasts and Ball On The Mound. In addition, he has published four novels: Getting Lucky (The Story), Memphis Masquerade, Seventh Sense and Ghost Girl. His web page is https://rgerryfabian.wordpress.com Twitter @GerryFabian2 Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerry-fabian-91353a131/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010099476497 He lives in Doylestown, PA "I believe this poem represents the underside in that we often interact with people on a level that never goes beyond a civil familiarity."
