Write What You Know

Lurking in my inbox
I found the above
writing prompt:
"Write What You Know."

Oy!

At twenty I knew many things.
At forty I had answers.
At sixty I didn't know anything.

A decade later
I don't need to know.

Now don't get me wrong
I still cherish a few premises
but feel no need to defend them.

Much like Robert Fulgrum
in _Everything I Need to Know
I Learned in Kindergarten_
I remain grounded in first grade.

I like to play tea party.
These days I drink real tea,
eat chocolate chip cookies,
and brownies and knit
between cups of Earl Grey.

I like to play dress up.
A new flannel nightgown
suffices. Sometimes for the sake
of diversity I add a knitted shawl.

I still love the Five and Dime
but now it is the Dollar Store
and I buy a rewinding tape
measure or buttons for
a knitting project.

I've learned to share
my books. I hold
out my primer. It
has morphed into a
collection of Irish short stories,
a Y/A novel, or a knitting pattern
and I hope a fellow reader
or knitter will share their
largess.

I've taken my chalk
from the blackboard
and moved on to the
web. My messages
are simple: I miss you.
Found the neatest sock
pattern. Come over to play.

I start the day with
"Bless the Work."
And my yarn doesn't snarl
as often, my stitches are
less likely to stretch,
and the colors work together
in more pleasing combinations.

I seldom participate in games.
Duck, Duck, Goose, is a great favorite
in first grade.

I am happier being
an egret on the sidelines
applauding the goose...
learning to knit
a picot edge or hemstitch.

I know my premises
comprise a meager cache
of wisdom for seventy years.

BUT!

I know joy in my day.