I carry gum now.
Since cleaning out my dad’s closets
and drawers
and cabinets and pockets
I have found pack after pack
of gum after gum.

His mouth got dry
so he had prescribed products for that
but found
that chewing anything did the trick
so I now have collected
hundreds of solid sticks of spearmint.

This, then
is my inheritance.

Also inherited
is a predilection for parsimony
so, with this new wealth of peppermint
collecting dust,
I have found a need
to knead.

Now
if you see me
walking around
my jaws flapping
and we start to chew the fat
but my mouth is gnashing full
with gum
and I end up offering you some
it is all because of my inheritance
and my interest in spending it.