Lost in Thought

First of all, class ... before I forget ... Professor Squigglee wanted me to announce that a new installment of "Squiggles and Giggles" has been posted. There will be no test on the material, but you might want to take a look anyway (link in lefthand column).

Meanwhile:

I sometimes like to take a figurative statement and pursue it as though it were literally true ...

I remember a teacher who pointed out the mental images brought up by "catching a bus," for example, if taken as literally true ... likewise with "taking the plunge," "beating the bushes," etc.

In this case, I considered "lost in thought."

Literal pursuit of that concept takes us rushing down the winding path toward several improbable possibilities, all the way to the somewhat illogical conclusion. Or is it?

The poem:

LOST IN THOUGHT

If I were to become

lost in thought,

would I wander forever?

Would anybody notice

that I hadn't come

home for supper?

Would search parties

form sagging lines, go out

into the darkness,

beating the bushes

and calling my name?

Would I be

on the six o'clock news?

Would I ever

be myself again,

or would I return

as someone completely

different, a person

I have never met?

© 1999

(originally published in ByLine)

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Today's word: literal