In case you noticed, I've been gone for a few days. This is why!!!

They say the Irish are lucky,
But you couldn’t prove it by me.
What little luck I do have
Is usually bad you see.

Some people go through life
Like a child playing skip-rope,
Me, I crawl along slowly
Inching my hands out a pathway to grope.

I’ll give you just one example
Of how life dumps its garbage on me,
I spent all day yesterday cleaning,
So the apartment would be totally void of debris.

I settled in for a quiet evening
Of great music and a good book
Then my computer announced I had email
So I got up to go take a look.

I crossed the room without thought
Because my mind was intent on my mail,
So it was quite a shock,
When unexpected wetness my feet did assail.

My first thought was that I had spilled something
While on my cleaning spree,
But there was nothing tipped over
Or dripping that I could see.

I followed the trail of water
To where It seemed to start.
When I opened the door to Mike’s room
My composure began to depart.

Water was gushing out of his closet
Totally soaked were the carpet and wall.
There shooting from the burst water heater
Was a miniature waterfall.

I pulled the plug out first
Then attacked the shut-off knob.
Of course, the dumb thing was rusty
Which made turning it quite a job.

I stemmed the rushing tide of water,
But a steady stream of it continued to flow
Until the tank was empty
It trickled down to the floor ever so slow.

The landlord wasn’t happy I called her,
But she promised to come over post haste.
I busied myself in the meantime
Surveying the clean-up task I now faced.

Water now covered the entire apartment.
Even the kitchen was wet.
There was one thing I was sure of
Until it was cleaned up, no sleep at all would I get

On that point I wasn’t mistaken
At dawn I still had a mop in my hand,
And the skin on my feet was all wrinkled.
I felt like a soggy deckhand.

So while I may love many things Irish,
Including their laces and tartan of plaid
When it comes to my Irish luck
I fear like my initials, my Irish luck is all BAD.

Copyright 2003 Bobbi Duffy