Some of us here at Cajun Chronicles Podcast Corporation, upon our return to the broadcast offices, were met with less than stellar air conditioning that required maintenance. Even without that annoying life problem wrinkle, it seems like the weather lately has been a tad too much like the hottest hot sauce we’ve ever met.
One of our student interns showed off what Google Notebook LM could do with a poem another staff member came up with, while fanning themselves with dollar store paper fan. This in turn led us to a fun discussion of what the poem might also really be about. Let’s see what you think:
When Your Winter Wish Comes Back To Haunt Your Entire Summer
"I asked for a little sunshine, not an oven-baked apocalypse!"
Last winter a frosty plea, a daily winter's wail,
"Oh, sun, please shine, and lift this freezing veil!
The snow and ice snow is deep, my toes are numb,
I begged for a touch of warmth, oh please, just some!"
I knelt and shivered, stayed under the covers quite sincere,
Praying for spring and the flowers to magically reappear.
The blizzards raged, the winds and a tornado did bite,
Worried answers were a hard “no” surely my prayers clearly took flight.
Now summer's here, the heat index a shocking fiery blast,
Divine Iron thoughts, distant memories of my winter wishes are fading fast.
The wheelchair ramp and pavement shimmers, flowers all bake,
We're melting, prisoners even with a/c for goodness sake!
Now the desert child who knew how to beat the heat in me should know,
Be careful what you pray for, be a little more specific though.
That warmth I begged for, bundled up when going out in the snow,
Is back with an evil vengeance, laughing at me as it watches me glow!
Next time winter gripes I’ve already decided to level up make,
I'll offer prayers for better insulation for goodness sake,
With more shivering precision, more thought word by word,
Lest my hot pleas be taken too literally truly heard!
The extreme heat wave we're experiencing is a divine iron's revenge, flattening our cool aspirations into a sizzling, inescapable reality.
The Lesson: Be Specific with Your Desires
Just like a divine iron that flattens out every wrinkle, the universe has a way of taking our broad requests and applying them with literal, often overwhelming, force. When I prayed for warmth in the depths of winter, the poet envisioned cozy days and blossoming flowers, not the relentless, scorching heat that's now turning our world into a griddle.
The lesson here is profound, be incredibly specific with your desires, especially when it comes to the forces of nature. A vague plea for "warmth" can manifest as a gentle spring breeze or a suffocating heat dome. When you're dealing with the vast, indifferent mechanisms of the cosmos (or even just the weather), precision is paramount. Otherwise, you might just get exactly what you asked for, in the most inconvenient, sweat-inducing way possible.
A Word of Wisdom:
As you read, remember history and real life is a complex mix of joy, sorrow, triumph, and tragedy. While we may have (or not) added a bit of fiction, the core message remains, the human spirit's power to endure, adapt, and overcome.
© Jerilee Wei 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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