Ode to a Kettle

“Put the kettle on” is often heard
upon entering a household.
Seen as a common courtesy,
but that kettle has feelings too.

It cries with overuse, tears sliding down its sides.
Eternally on display,
never praised,
used for years and years on end.
The enraged kettle, steams,
whistling with fury,
blood always boiling,
taken for granted.

Shiny, valuable, new;
rusted, useless, old.
The transition is quick,
from youngster to elder,
in humans
- in appliances too.

What of the tired kettle?
The sick, tired, and ageing kettle?
Is it ever allowed to retire,
or must it wait for the owners say-so?
Never quitting,
nor giving up
until its spout becomes frail, hanging
by a stainless steel will.

Really, what is the point of boiling water
if it has already been boiled?
Alas, the kettle’s opinion is irrelevant.
It is sent off and away
to be chopped, melted and dispersed
because of its malfunction,
one small error in many years of service…