Doohickeys and Doodahs

It comes to us all in the end:
you forget an object’s name
but you smile and pretend
that it is some sort of game.

Pass me the doodah, please,
or a thingummy, if you prefer,
you say with confident ease
as the exact word is a blur.

When you meet an old mate,
is it John, is it Bob or Wayne?
You’ll recall when it’s too late
but right now it’s all in vain.

You tell the wife that you met
him, you know, Whassisname,
and she with a pang of regret
remembers he was her flame.

She’s using a shiny doohickey
preparing a dish for your lunch;
thinks you’re taking the mickey
and she flattens you with a punch.

You rebut that it isn’t a gimmick
and that really you haven’t a clue
what his name or his patronymic
is; and that is undoubtedly true.

© Luigi Pagano 2010