lived on a rural route
the postman(or anyone) rarely ever stopped up at
the house
usually his packages were leaned
against the mailbox post at the edge of the gravel and dirt graded road lazing just
beyond his barbed wire fence
but this afternoon he stood on
the porch at the screen door
-- Knock Knock
he said
no package a mittful of letters couple of advertisement flyers
his
truck ran behind him its exhaust
tossing dust
flicking a singular stiff postcard with the finger of his other hand
crumble came off it as he did
(he grimaced)
Gotcha a lil sumptin heer feryeh
dis express afternoon
he was slovenly
he was uncouth
but you could set a timepiece to
him rain or shine or blister or wildfire
-- This express afternoon
he said walking up to the locked screen door
-- Lemme tell ya boy
When
I furst begun deliverin mail
he flicked the postcard again
(he grimaced)
I woudntve delivered dis unles it wrappd in brown paper
Bullshit
return address
Porno shit
Ya got me
-- Got you
while youre tampering and flicking my personal mail
-- Yar personal mail as you sez
shoudnt aught be exposed fer decent people tah see
-- Out here
youre probably the only other person beside me to see any of it
And I cant speak to how decent you are
Maybe you
ought to be a bit embarrassed by your prying eyes
he unhooked the screendoor
-- Dey aint pryin nautin
Damn postcard
Yahll see
he handed him the mail
as he opened the door
Used to be laws aginst dis stuff
through da mail
-- Before you were delivering it
Comstock
Act
Sought by a Victorian prude
-- He mightve been right
-- Everyone ought to be right for
themselves
Thank
you for my mail
-- Yah
he turned and walked off
not another word
grumbling
entering the house he hooked the
screen door shut and set the other mail down on the long coffee table before
the couch
he gently turned the antique postcard
to its written side
wanting
to savor what might be on its reverse
from a friend visiting New
England
theyd been chums buddies a long time
and whenever one had the slightest opportunity to embarrass the other as malicious friends do
they did
it would continue a ones-upmanship until either his friend was planted in the ground or he was scintillating heat
wafting up through a smudged crematory flue
WISH YOU WERE HERE
-- Funny fucker
he gently turned it over again
Gawddamn!
theyre afraid to build girls like
that anymore
cuts into profits
when had Voluptuousness been tamped
down seen as inordinate
aint talk fat
aint talking big
talking curves where curves belong
au
naturel
not manufactured augmented diced
and sliced silicone and saline
he wouldnt
and if he wouldnt
why would a woman
maybe he held them to an esteem
higher than they held themselves
2311, Day-between-Two-Ts, 20 5.
15
1512, Saturday,
23 5. 15
