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You know that conversation where they ask
who you want to be with on an island,
and you say Gandhi or Walt Whitman
or Slim Whitman or Penelope Cruz
or, maybe, a guy with a big boat?
Well, nuts to that –
I want to be with the person
who first put a snooze-button on an alarm clock.
I want to be with the person
who first put an eraser on a pencil; that little,
curved, undo arrow on my computer screen.
I want to meet the guy who invented reverse.
Wouldn’t it be pretty good to meet the person
who figured out what to do
when you’d put too much salt in the soup?
I want to be with the person who found the antidote
for some kind of snakebite,
and I want that person to like me very much.
I want to be able to change my mind
if this person plays banjo or prefers Lite beer.
I won’t get all Henry VIII about it,
but I want to be able to change my mind.
This poem first appeared in The Cliffs “Soundings”.
Used here with the author’s permission.
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Ralph Murre is a recovering Wisconsin farm boy who has taken to poetry instead of plowing, since the pay rate is about the same, and the females involved tend to be human rather than Holstein. His books to date are Crude Red Boat (now out of print), Psalms, The Price of Gravity and, most recent and co-authored with Sharon Auberle, Wind Where Music Was. He has been honored to serve as the 2015-2017 Poet Laureate of Door County, Wisconsin.You can learn more about Ralph, and enjoy his photographs, drawings, and more poetry, at his Arem Arvinson blog.
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Ralph Murre:
Aaah, y' bunch a sweethearts -- thanks so much. Keep yer eyes open for an island fer the lot o' us. Mimi; don't push the banjo thing.
Posted 05/20/2017 11:00 PM
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Jo:
Thanks, Ralph.
Really enjoy your light touch.
Posted 05/20/2017 10:22 PM
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ladybug:
Fun and imaginative poem, Ralph!
Happy writing.
Susan T. Moss
Posted 05/20/2017 03:31 PM
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TheSilverOne:
thought provoking, fun poem.
Posted 05/20/2017 03:01 PM
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transitions:
Great poem, love the dry humor.
Posted 05/20/2017 02:42 PM
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barbsteff:
Ralph Murre - one of Wisconsin's gifts to poetry and unconventional thinking! Yay!
Posted 05/20/2017 01:05 PM
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Marilyn L Taylor:
Another excellent poem from the recovering farm boy! You continue to inspire me.
Posted 05/20/2017 11:47 AM
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mjorlock:
Ralph, wouldn't hell be being stranded on an island and there was only Lite Beer? Unless, of course, there are brats in need of boiling. Then Lite beer comes in handy, just like the "undo" button on my keyboard. Nice poem, brother. Keep 'em coming.
Posted 05/20/2017 10:40 AM
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Jancan:
Entertaining--love the dry sense of humor and the choices for the list! Janice
Posted 05/20/2017 09:39 AM
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Janet Leahy:
Oh yes to the snooze button!! This poem is delightful, thanks Ralph.
Posted 05/20/2017 08:46 AM
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paradea:
Love this. Very relatable!!!
Posted 05/20/2017 08:29 AM
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Gary Busha:
Yes, I could tolerate. A fine poem.
Posted 05/20/2017 08:25 AM
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mimi:
ha--great poem! I get the Lite beer, but hey, banjo's good...
Posted 05/20/2017 07:58 AM
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Larry Schug:
My kind of poem, for sure, one of YDP's best. You capture well the rhythm of everyday language, of conversation.
Posted 05/20/2017 07:53 AM
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Katrina:
The last stanza is epic.
Posted 05/20/2017 07:43 AM
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phebe.davidson@gmail.com:
I really, really like this---poem & sentiment both!!!
Posted 05/20/2017 06:16 AM
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