she had a house

                   she and her husband had a housetheyve had several

this house had an enclosed claytiled patio

the tiles looked like ingots

separate

coarse

uneven

one was foolish if they didnt wear shoes to protect their soles

on the end that shared a wall with the rest of the house was a built-in bookcase

eight shelves

the lowest two were equally tallest and held leather photograph albums monographs folios artbooks and atlases

the six remaining shelf heights diminished as the bookcase approached the ceiling

the top shelf was hers crowning the bookcase with literary collections first editions autographed some numbered

among them were Anais Nins that he gifted her Linotte Incest Venus of Delta Little Birds A Spy in the House of Love a housewarming gift

also interspersed on the shelf were wheeled toys her parents gave her when she learned to walk one was a wood handcarved duck on four orange wheels on which an oblong pastel orange yellow purple ivory egg turned over and over on the wheels as she pulled it behind her 

                                 it was forty years old

it was a joy to see her innocence displayed beside her knowingness a spectrum that could be easily overlooked if one didnt know what they were looking at

hadnt read Nin

he first read Nin his freshman year in the library at Chicago Circle campus

through its tall windows he watched the erection of Sears Tower then what would be the tallest building in the world

it was a heady time

                      he was eighteen demonstrated against Nam ducked Chicago cops on horseback who wielded their animals through the crowd and swung at skulls with batons like wayward drunken polo players his first black girlfriend first menage a trois with visiting French students made LSD in Chem lab randomly stole cars and left them for cash with greasy men who spirited them off to shops to be chopped hustled pool turned quick green 

he was a nuisance not a criminal

it didnt hurt to have friends inside the police force who werent riding horses and squeezed mules confiscated contraband shared it he turned it enjoyed a fair cut    

it was fun

it was nice to have assets

it was nice to have assets to be able to split when the squeeze flipped

he had ambition

but he wasnt an implacable greedy prick

            heady times

                           that she knew nothing about

never would

it seemed enough she knew he dug Nin 

    

2211,  Twosday,  17  12. 19

1117,  Saturday,  2  5. 20

Miles Davis – John Coltrane  Walking  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOGELQbbwhU