There are no coincidences
      - George Noory, Coast to Coast AM


I

While doing the dishes, I pull an SOS pad (the last one in fact) from the box;
to my surprise, twice the usual size. After scrubbing pots and pans clean with it,
I drain the sink, only to discover a dirty cookie sheet forgotten in the oven.
Thanks to the extra large scouring pad, I am able to scrub the cookie sheet clean as well.


II

After posting a poem about my father on the Internet, later that day he unexpectedly phones,
and wishes me Happy Fathers Day, and I to him, but then I nicely point out that Fathers Day
isn't until next Sunday. We laugh together at the idea of getting two Fathers Days in one year.


III

Last Sunday in June. A victim of circumstance; my son’s room & board is two weeks overdue.
He started a new job, but his first cheque won’t arrive until Thursday. My own payday is still
three days away. On the upside, the rent and bills are covered, with every last dollar I have
gone into groceries, and now it too has run out. With no bread or meat, less than half a
liter of milk remaining in the fridge.

Despite being broke, I head off to the last poetry reading before the summer break, unable to
buy myself even a cup of coffee. My poetry group’s website will soon be up for renewal,
and so I’ve asked around to see in addition to donations how many dollars everyone can pitch in.

I need a small miracle to get me through to payday, and politely bring this to God’s attention while
saying morning prayers. To my surprise and relief, after the reading, the Chairperson
hands me $95. of collected donations towards renewal of the website, still two months away.


IV

I was reading a friend’s poem on the Internet, and as my eyes danced down the lines and stanzas,
absorbed the new meaning of words in their assemblage, a song suddenly popped into my head.
Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and The Shondells. At the time, why this happened,
I have no idea, nor paid it much attention, as poems often give off such energy. There was nothing
out in the open at least to give away the song.

I told the author in a comment below the poem, that it inexplicably reminded me of the song
Crimson and Clover. She wrote me back and said “Oh my God! You’ll never believe this,
but I was listening to that song while writing the poem.”


© 2006

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06/26/2006

Posted on 06/26/2006
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti