My last two kitchens had islands
the ultimate luxury
the kitchen I live with now
is bestowed more modestly.
So I follow the ways of my grandmas
and my mother, apt and able,
enlisting our four-legged friend,
the enduring kitchen table.
But I have a homey bauble
with which they weren’t stuck
a low-hanging ceiling lamp
which I cannot remember to duck.
Hovering over the table
at just the exact right spot
it clunks against my head
and elicits descriptive bon mot.
Some day I’ll explain to my neighbors
the reverberant mystery
the gong heard ’round the ‘hood
it isn’t Big Ben — it’s me.
Yes, I know, dear reader. I took liberties with my French. It was too awful not to use.
Oddments 
December 12, 2017 at 12:16 pm
If I had to bend over to work on a kitchen table, I’d need the fire department to straighten me up and pass me an ice pack. 🙂 I’ve had an island of some size and shape since the 80’s. I think I could give up a lot of things, but I’d be shopping for a small one on wheels or something because my back wouldn’t work without one. 🙂 The light looks like a lovely summer bonnet over a nice bay window. Hope you get settled in and enjoy your new home each and every day.
December 12, 2017 at 12:46 pm
Indeed the island is a lot more back-friendly! The creaking of my spine goes nicely with the gonging of my head against the light! I’ve looked a bit online at movable islands, and perhaps some day one of those will replace the table. Or I could just re-arrange the boxes and use them! Thanks for your good wishes — there is progress!
December 14, 2017 at 7:39 pm
Oops! You’d heard, perhaps, that Big Ben has been silenced, but we would never impose on you the responsibility to chime in its stead. You’ll adapt, as I did when a badly positioned kitchen door knob caused the unwary user to skin his or her fingers, but it may be better to move the offending article?
December 15, 2017 at 11:27 am
I had indeed heard of the unthinkable silencing of Big Ben, but I keep its memory green with my head. One must marvel at how sneaky doorknobs and hanging lamps can be. They seem so innocuous.