Buddy the Gourd!

Noticing a Toaster

I am sitting at the kitchen table
reading the newspaper
the garbage disposal is grinding
and I'm feeling sleepy

someone walks in and starts singing
it is a song about rubber tires
and how they work

I keep on reading

someone keeps singing
this time about the high cost of butter

I wonder  am I at the theater  or in the kitchen

I could keep reading newspaper stories for hours
but the singer  tired of undebatable knowledge
thrusts a toaster in front of my face

I can see myself

reflected  in the hours-long  polished surface

I'm startled  and surprised  by what I look like

I'm unsettled  I don't understand  this toaster

there is a certain darkness
just outside the kitchen
it stands waiting at the windows and doors
and for a moment I notice it