For A Rainy Day (Poetry)

Old habits die hard
the words have proved true
I still put things by
save them the same way
I’ve done all my life

Reserve them ‘for best’
some grand occasion
planned as imagined
might one day happen
and I’ll be prepared

The stockpile just grows
an odd pregnancy
with no set due date
off-white elephants
all pie in the sky

A weird assortment
come-in-handy things
or fanciful stuff
I’ve bought on a whim
thought of as bargains

Years wrapped and boxed tight
waiting doggedly
for that rainy day
while the dust collects
and hope slips away