Minor Disturbances

Need my complete attention.
By Mark Tulin

Photo by Patti Wontorcik on Unsplash

At my age, minor disturbances
are like shards of glass,
broken little things
that seem trivial,
but needing my
complete attention

They may look innocent
under the light — 
sometimes even pretty,
but if you step on them,
they cut like a razor

I used to ignore 
these small tragedies,
leave them scattered — 
don’t sweat the small stuff,
I said, it’s better to let go
and deal with things that matter

But if you ask me now,
I’d say it’s wise to fix the sliding door,
take the iPhone back to the Apple store,
see the doctor before a rash occurs,
and throw out the old percolator
with the frayed power cord

What may seem meager 
and a slight inconvenience,
may grow into a catastrophe,
if neglected

​I know this now
after years of making mistakes.

© 2021 Mark Tulin

This poem was inspired by The Shoelace — Charles Bukowski