Afternoon Delight

The world is cruel and callous;
politicians pander and cajole.
Heat index breaks records and dreams;
Paris melts and Bordeaux burns.

I turn my phone, my small screen,
away from me, it's banished.
For the next seven minutes,
I will be here minding my business:
palming a bowl of warm blueberry pie
topped with two curlicue scoops,
not just one, of vanilla bean
ice skating on hot berries.

Because life is short and scary
and once in a while
in the midst of all the chaos,
be it engineered or organic,
I must surely fit in
just for myself
a few quiet minutes
draped in the sunbeams
for an afternoon delight
that leaves me with the reminder
that life can be sweet.

Once spoon clatters to empty dish,
life will return at full volume.
But for now, life is this moment,
small and real and worth it.