Ode to a Paper Clip

                        -i-

Paper Clip   the name of a horse running

in the third race at Belmont   out of Steel

Thread by Shapely Curves   losing to Dunning

Letter and Your Check Attached     no payout

so unless I please the gods with this ode

Paper Clip goes to the glue factory

                        -ii-

Sing to me of the paper clip   O muse

tell the glory of this print age item

tell how paper clips saved the nation

tell how they imposed order on chaos

Usefulness    that’s why paper clips survive

they sheaf together key facts of life

original signed documents   the scrip

of legality   birth   citizenship

a marriage

Useful

 in more ways than one they thrive

if Zeus had had his papers clipped to Hera’s

they’d still be together not all alone

unworshipped

each in a void of absence

each growing older   indistinguishable

from iron dust staining the stream bed red

where water trickles down from Olympus

Ease of use

Paper clips come as they are   with

no prohibitions against misuse

Plastic paper clips   more prone to snap than

the metal paper clips I prefer

can be strung into necklaces   bizarre

gifts perhaps   but effective therapy

Always pick up a paper clip if found

under employed   alone

& put to work   else anarchy ensue

disorder dominate your day

They work well with an opposable thumb

in moments of stress they can be straightened

Don’t use as a pick   don’t pierce an eardrum

straighten two a day in case of burn out

©  Dick Russell, 2012