you never speak ill of the dead

because theyre listening

whenever he tried to convey that . . . sense . . . as indead it made keen sense to him     

those listening  

                         their eyeballs ratcheted open wider and the hair on the backs of their necks 

stood on end

                                                and hed know they hadnt watched their tongues

he knew from his incursions                                                                                           

his sparrings                                                                                                                                      his “wait a second!”  directed at them to buy himself a slender scintilla  a slip of time       

to step back   sensitively   

and recognize either his                                                                                                                        

                                      or their transgression

of course they listen

                                they listen like curious children from hallways or antechambers outside kitchens  on sideboards in the diningroom  from livingroom overhead etchedglass fixtures 

nestled in eased transoms  or clinging to roughcut timbers floorjoists and their braces 

beneath our feet 

listening at keyholes in doors where skeletons keys had been lost long ago  

                                                                                                                           or hidden

hed seen faces scratched and cheeks slapped  bodies shoved from behind

and had to insert himself as a peacekeeper  raising his voice sternly  -   Well have none 

of that                                                                                                                           

--   Keep your hands to yourself

Keep your hands to yourself                                                                                                

because they can                                                                                                             

if you have earned their respect

because if youve talked badly of them                                                                            

as anyone who is badly spoken of behind theirs backs or blatantly threatened to their 

faces

         there seethes an animosity

and they possess the element of surprise                                                                                        

                                                                   like guerillas or bloodsworn jihadists fingering 

maiming IEDs

one logically fears being maimed to death

of course they listen

never speak ill of the dead

0110,  Friday,  2  5. 14