“Ready”

 

c. 2026 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(1-26)

 

Are you ready?

Ready for a spin on Let’s Make a Deal

Rushed into experiences, sublime, yet surreal

With a howling of hucksters, an overwhelming appeal

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

For a chance crossing of a two-lane road

Like a chicken chasing wildly, after a toad

Under a bald eagle screeching, ‘Hey, look out below!’

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

To admit that life is a gamester’s get

A full measure of captives in a butterfly net

A memory too precious to ever forget

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

To read a love letter to the one you desire

While sitting on the perimeter of a blazing, bonfire

Wondering about goals to which you aspire

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

To bow your head low, and accept having failed

With all of the guilt that act would entail

A step off the edge of a woodland trail

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

To witness the elevation of a saint to his spot

Above all the faithful, waiting out in the parking lot

A tradition, time-tested, for those who have not

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

For a cadence of marchers, high-stepping along

With a chorus of carolers, uplifting their song

While a dance is performed to the clang of a gong

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

For the last gasp of breath that comes before sleep

When the darkness enshrouds those who quietly creep

Into a realm of spirits who boldly repeat -

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

For a gift given after the experience has passed

To be first on the roster, and shuffled to last

To receive a proud pouring, into the wine glass

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

For a sunset of days that will erase all creation

Like a blackboard swept clean, of its information

Will you weep or rejoice, with sheer adulation

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

To be lifted on high, with wings to behold

Wide and feathered lightly, with trimmings of gold

A compensation offered, growing feeble and old

Are you ready?

 

Are you ready?

To read the last sonnet composed by a bard

Spray-painted crudely, on a garage in the yard

Dealt swiftly and sure, like a hand of playing cards

Are you ready?