Snow Globes
/Joseph Geskey
Snow globes of nostalgia
Gifted by children and grandchildren
Commemorating the stability of home,
The ceramic domicile serenely encased
Under a white plastic dome,
Seeing the water, oil, glycol,
And the light dusting of salt crystals
Being turned upside down
By excited hands and the resultant squall
Before slipping, crashing, and breaking
Over the hardwood floor,
Thinking of us years ago
Sitting in a restaurant
For a work-related meal,
Watching you vigorously shake salt
In your hands letting it bounce
And settle on the meat, its natural juices
Like saliva from a wolf’s grin
Before the feral hunt, and then
Both of us moving on from those
Left behind and abandoned, living
According to the survival of the fittest.
Author’s Statement: Snow Globes was motivated by contrasting what appears to be an idyllic, contemporary elderly couple’s relationship that began years ago when their previous hidebound lives were upended due to meeting one another. Slantwise, it is meant to disturb the impression that as we age we renounce passion.
Joseph Geskey is a physician who lives in Dublin, OH. His first book of poetry, Alms for the Ravens, will be published by Main Street Rag Publishing Company in Summer 2024. Individual poems are forthcoming from Tar River Poetry, Poetry East, Cloudbank, and others.
