Three Grooks

For My Parents

I.
From termites to dry rot to natural disaster,
You must rebuild what you have built.
For the body, there's no such remedial plaster:
The one thing that kills you is guilt.

II.
Jazz and littrature, tennis and crosswords,
And pickle jars up to our necks.
Though we've shared so much, Italian and such:
The one thing in common was sex.

III.
The optimist says that the sky is blue.
The pessimist says that it's grey.
They never agree, but the children aren't fooled:
They always will go out and play.