A poem

As you all probably know, I'm not much of a poet. But I was inspired to write this after two events occurred yesterday. One, I heard a teacher give this exercise to a group of teens at an event I covered for the Globe. The exercise: write a poem telling someone how to do something. Two, a friend announced she was pregnant (and another friend recently announced she was trying to get pregnant).

Here goes.

How to congratulate a friend on her pregnancy
Shriek, "Oh my God, I'm so happy for you!" and mean it
all the while tramping down thoughts
of, I guess I should've appreciated more
the last time we got drunk and talked until 2
about things that had nothing to do with breast feeding or poo.
Say, "You guys will be the best parents!" and mean it
all the while not thinking
I feel lonely already, not initiated into the varicose vein club
Whisper, "That's so amazing," as you touch her tummy, and mean it
all the while refusing to acknowledge the voice in your head screaming,
Why don't you want to do this? Will you ever
And the other voice screaming, Why should I?
Everyone else is doing it doesn't seem a meaningful enough reason.