man always wore a 10 and complained
didn't know about 10 and a half
but it wasn't like there was anyone
to hear
didn't understand the use of deoderant
thought it was all from not watching sci-fi shows
he tried to watch them
but they were never of any interest
still,
you've got to have something
and he gave up friends for a wife
she looked like something you couldn't describe
but it's easy to describe ugly, so he was happy
they played at marriage
got the divorce right
then skimmed the dating pool, got right back together
thought in children for glue
they thought they watched enough tv to understand
the murder trials and tribulations of what they'd expect
so everyone grew
the kids going out too much, explaining to parent who'd never
just what fun was expected to be, could possibly be
man finding his eyebrows heaving into white bushes
getting dreams he'd never knew existed
wife was living into a counterpart
like one of those attachments you can never find the hook-on for
and lived was lived
and grandchildren was loved
a storybook of unevents
they picked out their own graves
and granddad drove the younger generation around to read the plot
taking a kind of pride in getting off the earth
talking wills
making nervous
then,
a show around to other dead relatives
each a starring role for a second
only dates
no dedications
nothing like poetry
then they circled back around
for another long look
at the way out
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writers@mcint.com
Last Updated: July 10, 1996