Ode to the Cherry Street Inn

for my nephew Austin

 

There are so many ways

To kick the bucket

Without even trying

Some involve stupidity

Some serial bad luck

But easiest of all 

Is succumbing

To the living death

Of the day after day

Whereas living in grace

Entails a far simpler plan

If you can only whistle a bar 

Or two of the Hallelujah chorus 

While sipping at your morning coffee

If you can keep an open heart and mind  

In the face of all the sameness

That lies directly ahead

You have to persist in this

Notwithstanding the shadows

Lying in wait outside

The front door

Shadows that seem to impede

Your forward progress  

On February 2^nd much as

Any other day

You have to figure out how

Not to let those shadows

Get in your way

Groundhog Day tells a story

That’s easily misunderstood

As a simple allegory whereas

It's actually a realistic account

Of the pact each of us

May choose to renew in response   

The alarm clock's summons

Each and every day

No matter what quadrant you start out in  

Whether at the Cherry Street Inn 

Or down at the Blue Lotus Temple

Snug at a table at Papa G's

Or across the Square

And out at the old homestead

Sooner or later your lifetime begins

To spin around the coordinate points

Faster and faster in a disorienting way

It's powerful enough to fool GPS 

And it can certainly confound a foolish

Old man like me

*  *  *  *  *

For those of you wondering about the title of this poem, it's a reference to the great Harold Ramis movie Groundhog Day.  And the picture above is the view from the shade of the front porch of the Inn where Bill Murray stayed for almost an eternity and where Marissa and I were lucky enough to stay last night - as guests of Karla and Everton Martin.  Now called the Royal Victorian Manor, for those of you passing though McHenry County Illinois, I recommend it highly.