Elegy to a dear one

Woe is the day
Such an inauspicious day
Whose was the evil eye
That cast an envious glance
On my dearest, my beloved
Whose the hate-filled heart
That mumbled the fearful curse
That snatched from me
My most precious
The apple of eye, the pride of my house
The darling of my family
My pyrex pudding bowl!

Many a pudding had it seen
Custards, jellies, mousses
Many a dinner had it graced with its sparkling presence.
Admiring glances had it known
And paens of praise too
As glittering it lay on the table
Adding luster to dessert.

I bought it at a jumble sale
At the United States,
Where I was visiting my sister
Being treated for skin cancer.
I bought it second-hand
It cost me half a dollar
It was chipped at the bottom
But I did not mind
For the fault never showed.
And it was a wise investment
And never mind the chip
My guests never guessed.

I remember the first time
I brought it to my table
Twenty electrified eyes
Followed me all the way;
I thought it was the mocha bombe
Luscious as can be
That lay tempting in the bowl
(and why not? For the sherry
That went into it was genuine English –
My friend gifted it only last week)

But it was not the mocha
Nor the sherry that drew attention
It was the pudding bowl
Straight from the United States

Much sherry has flowed into corpulent bellies since then.
Many cakes have been cut,
Little did I dream
Such a day would come
Such an end was at hand

It was that dratted blob of butter
That plopped on the floor
As I brought in the damned doughnuts
I never did like them anyway.

When it was the souffle’s turn
That dratted blob betrayed me
I slipped,
The bowl flew from my hand
The soufflé bounced several times
Never mind the soufflé
What a crash was there, my friends
My darling fell
In a shower of sparkling slivers
Taking with it my hopes and dreams
I fainted: all was lost.