Treasure Map
Melissa Balmain

For X. J. Kennedy

X marks the spot where wit is found,

Where puckish turns of phrase abound,

Allowing readers—ill, in debt,

Or stuck with Fluffy at the vet—

To have their sorrows so well drowned,

Their socks get wet.

X designates the sacred ground

Upon which ballads might resound

So crisply (like a fresh baguette!)

And smoothly (like a Gulfstream jet!)

They’ll later work their way around

The internet.

Behind it all? A soul renowned

For charm and patience that astound;

For shrewd critiques that make us sweat;

For kindness that, it’s safe to bet,

One day will get him winged and gowned—

But please, not yet.

- - -

Melissa’s notes: “I wrote this poem in 2019, when I was kindly asked to contribute to X. J. (Joe) Kennedy’s 90th birthday celebration. As many readers here know, Joe left us a few weeks ago, at 96. It still felt too soon.”

- - -

Melissa Balmain edits Light, North America’s longest-running journal of comic verse, and teaches writing at the University of Rochester. “Treasure Map” was first published in The New Criterion, and appears in Melissa’s latest poetry collection, Satan Talks to His Therapist (Paul Dry Books). melissabalmain.com

- - -

Hop to…

Treasure Map Melissa Balmain

Treasure Map
Melissa Balmain