The laughing Buddha rolls around my glove box
Gathering fluff and drunk on wine gums
How did I come to get it? I don’t recall. Why have I kept it? To bring luck, love, abundance? No, I just like the feel of it in my hand, the heft of it.
…But it might bring luck, so I cling to it.

I nudge the heating up, then down. Ah, just right.
While Ukrainians sit rigid with fright in frozen basements.
Click on the news. The jack boots are advancing because of one man’s tyranny. Again. History repeating.
But the Ukrainians have spirit and hope, so I cling to it.

The laughing Buddha jollies me along.
I smile back at him and toss him back with the wine gums.
I pop one in my mouth. I like the feel of my teeth sinking in.
The pop of sweetness.
I cling to it and drive on.

The end.