Buy in bulk 

Poem: Buy in bulk 

I like to save

I hate it when things go to waste

I like to be nice

I can do nice

I’ll give you something healthy as it’s a new year and you are my friend.

I cannot pretend that my intention is sincere

Here, have some healthy cereal bars, well over 100 – yum!

To thank me, I know you think that you should.

Think nothing of it, you’re on the road to being Healthy and Happy

and that’s enough for me, that is so good

Have a great start to the year,

With the right change of gear

Look at you

With your ‘Out with the old and in with the new…’

It’s the thought that counts

(Cereal bar Expiry date Feb 28th 2020)

 

Review: Buy in Bulk

On reading the first few lines of the poem it sounds to me that poet is prudent, polite and has good intentions. The poet appears to be pleasant and considerate. Already I’m getting to like the poet with their attitude. As I read on I’m taken to another level of thoughtfulness where the poet is demonstrating care for their friend by wanting to offer them something healthy as it’s the start of a new year. Hang on though. Before I get too carried away here with these ‘good intentions’, I automatically pause to ponder. Cereal bars are not all that healthy are they? They contain lots of sugar. All one hundred of these bars would need to be eaten by the end of February of the same year! That would be two months solid of ‘so called’ healthy cereal bar chomping, to not go ‘off’. That indeed is pressure and very yuk! I have changed my mind about the poet. I would say that the poet is demonstrating a pantomime villain behaviour towards their friend. Boo hiss to that!

Would I offer any friend of mine a one-way ticket to ill-healthville?

Nooooooo!

Lettuce leaves aplenty is what they’d get from me instead of all that condensed sugar!

Based on what I know already from the poet my imagined scenario is thus,

It sounds to me that this ‘friend’ has had one hundred cereal bars ‘palmed off’ to them by the poet. It could be that the same was done to the poet at Christmas time. Think about it. It could well be the case?

Maybe they have a business and it’s easier to offload this stuff to a friend and not pay extra in commercial waste costs as that would eat into profits. It’s feasible right? Cynical me, eh? Or not?

Bless the poet. Naive I think they are if they think that this gesture is seen as one hundred percent sincere and pure. Ok dear reader, maybe I am being a tad bit cynical here, but I’ll leave it to you to decide.

Whatever the friend is doing to make a positive start to the year, the poet appears to use it as a good ‘reason’ (or an excuse) to jump on that bandwagon to rid themselves of their own ‘out with the old’

I can’t help but laugh. If it was given me, I’d file it under the letter ‘B’ for bin! But the poet wouldn’t be told of this as I wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings. Hand on heart dear reader; Have you kept all gifts that have been offered to you over the years? Toot or treasures? Or is there an effective filing system under way with ‘K’ for keep, ‘B’ for Bin, ‘C’  for charity shop? ‘R’ for Reuse for gifting! What a faff eh?

I’ve had fun reading the poem with rhymes of;

‘Sincere with ‘here’

‘You are my friend’ with ‘I cannot pretend’

‘Think that you should’ with ‘That is so good’

and ‘Start of the year’ with ‘change of gear’

and ‘look at you’ with ‘in with the new’

A good delicate rhythm punctuates the poem nicely and there is a good pace throughout.

The last line of the poem with the expiry date makes me laugh out loud. A great entertaining finishing touch.

Let’s face it, those of us who are fortunate enough to get gifts of any kind at any time of the year are being thought of and, as the poet says that is what counts.