Listening Or Not

I just re-read this poem for the first time in a while. I was suddenly struck by the way the final verse seems to relate to the song, Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murphy's Chowder.

My wife had said she wanted walking shoes,
but other thoughts distracted me of course.
My question now is where to buy the best,
and where on earth to park this walking horse!

A friend had hinted every day for weeks
that as a giftie, he would like some jeans.
I heard him wrong I guess, but hope he likes
his life-supply of purple jelly beans.

My wifey sent me to the store to fetch
a simple thing (you'd think) - a loaf of bread.
She didn't scream. She only rolled her eyes
when I brought home that nicely shrunken head.

I guess the poet in me always hears
in rhyming pairs, and adds one to the plot,
but there's no way to tell just how I think
nor whether I am listening or not.

So, lately I've been trying very hard
to hear correctly every word she speaks,
and she tries, too, yet "cock-a-leekie soup"
for supper, somehow turned to duddy breeks!

December 21, 2022
02:21:16