50 Years of No Special Reason

The day and hour had finally arrived.

This was to be the day
the consulting speech pathologist
was going to let us know when
Vi was finally going to get
Her augmentative communication system.

Anticipation
loomed like the hot sticky July air
which pervaded her unit cubicle
where we all had gathered to hear the news.

Five minutes
into his polite but rambling recitation though
it became apparent that the only news
he had for us that day been no news at all:

A glitch had developed here or there.
A microswitch had failed.
A proverbial monkey wrench
had been thrown into the works again.

Nothing new.
Proverbial monkey wrenches
always had a strange magnetic attraction
to Vi.

They seek her out
then boomerang
in God only knows
how many directions.

So it must have come as quite a surprise to him
when I asked how much longer it would take
to get back on track this time.

“Why?” he quizzically replied.
“Is there any special reason for all the rush?”

“No, no special reason.”
I said.
In a mute sigh
Only Vi could understand.

“No.
No special reason at all.”

“Except that she has had
50 years of no special reasons.”