Sharon Scholl is the author of two poetry collections, Unauthorized
Biographies and All Points, and is a Professor of Humanities at
Jacksonville University (FL) and a church musician for local Unitarians.
Otherwise, she claims to be a typical grandma.
The Extra Day
Our calendar relentlessly
races past the sun
by increments too small
for a decent yawn
or satisfying scratch.
Nonetheless, by 4909
we will have bested
our blazing neighbor
by the notable distance
of a single day.
The devout will fall to praying,
this disparity deemed symbolic
of earth's terminal condition
and the prophesied approach
of the divine Rapture.
Students will be assigned
to ferret out the devious path
the numerical discrepancy
has charted through the ages
since Pope Gregory's dispensation.
Drunks will launch collective binges.
Post offices will close, of course.
Astrologers will declare good luck,
bad luck, no luck at all, after which
life will go on as usual.
