Horseless, and with nothing to exult over
except a child's case of chicken pox,
Zoltan was grumpy —
slurping the dregs of a Starbucks flat white.

Still, the situation could have been worse.
It could have been fine.
The sparrow, casually crushed
by a passing car,
could have continued to peck happily
at yesterday's pizza.

The bank could have accepted Igor's zlotys.