Caught Short

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Caught Short

Caught short by the rainy season, I should have known better.
Though I’d left home high and dry, I knew I’d soon be wetter.
Defenseless  in the downpour, I ducked into a store.
Just to get some shelter,  I rushed in through that door.

I felt that I was lucky as this store was full of stuff,
though finding what I needed might be sort of tough.
The store clerk shuffled up to me, though he could barely stand—
an umbrella just as old as him held up in his hand.

Lucky when I chanced upon this ancient wrinkled fella,
he happened to be carrying a really big umbrella!
I opened up my pocket book and located a fiver.
Now I wouldn’t spend this day wet as a scuba diver!

But when I left that thrift store with my practical new find,
I found that I was actually in the same old bind.
For opening up my parasol, I uttered “What the heck?”
as rivulets of water ran down my head and neck.

The purchase I’d just made, I found, would be no help at all.
I hadn’t noticed that the shop was St. Vincent de Paul.*
The fault was no one else’s.  I know it was mine, solely.
I should have realized sooner that my purchase would be holy!

 

*St. Vincent de Paul is a secondhand store run by the Catholic Church.

 

The Daily Addictions prompt was Ancient. This poem was published under a different name four years ago.

16 thoughts on “Caught Short”

  1. Sidharth's avatarSidharth

    This was truly delightful 😍. The way you conveyed such a witty story and balanced it with the consistency of your rhymes was absolutely amazing👏. According to your convenience please do read some of my writings (preferably my poems because I too like to convey a story along with rhymes) would love to know what you think about them ☺️

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      1. Covert Novelist's avatarCovert Novelist

        It’s Phyllis, please. I could readily imagine the situation and have seen people with that exact predicament. While it was funny on the one hand, it was heartbreaking on the other. omg but that last line1

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