The measure of things

The measure of things

It's a wonder they held up
as long as they did.

That first low-budget,
first-apartment set of four
impossibly thin aluminum
measuring spoons held
together with a metal ring.

They weren't made to last.

But they did, for decades.

Until yesterday, when the 
teaspoon spoon handle,
bent and straightened
one too many times,  
snapped.

Yes, they were inexpensive,
cheap even, I suppose, but
when they broke, it was like 
the cake that didn't rise.

Deflating.

A curdled mix of
disappointment 
and nostalgia.

For I knew, from the
rounded teaspoon to the
scant tablespoon, the spoons 
were made to measure,
not to last.

But for a pinch of good
fortune, they did, much 
longer than expected.