PONDERING POCKETS

When most of us ponder pockets

we think of pants

or of other places on our person

where we put the particular pieces

that don’t fit in a purse or pouch

perhaps like the pennies

that we are too preoccupied

to put in the Piggy Bank

But those are particular pockets

pertaining to our person

and do not pertain to the places

that do not fit in with the other places where they are put

Perhaps Paducah

a pocket of poverty in an otherwise prosperous populace

Perhaps the perennially prosperous

a pernicious pocket of privilege

in a world of potential paupers

Perhaps polio

a pocket of pestilence in an otherwise healthy population

Or puny Palestine

a pocket of persistent problems

In a particularly perplexing

portion of the planet

And pardon me for bringing up

the all too personal periodontal pockets

that seem to pop up with their plaque partners

with perplexing persistence

And of course the air pockets in planes

when we plummet that make us puke

Or the hot pockets that please our palette

Or the pockets on pool tables

where we project precisely proportioned projectiles

All these are pockets

the perennial placeholders

of the pieces of the planet

that have the potential to perturb our peace

that plague us

that perplex us

or that just plain piss us off

Praise be to pockets

for putting away the pieces

that are out of place

any place else