the coward-in-chief
“suckers” “losers”
theres no money in
it
2151, Reggae Friday, 4 9.
20
4.9.20
Dadu! she yelled from in the
kitchen to him in the hall where his granddaughters caught him coming out of
the spare bedroom Care for a cup of
coffee now, or did you want to wait a bit?
Cawwfee he yelled back Thank you
An you two knuckleheads the way youre acting I might think youve had
too much caffeine
Grandpoo! they chorused
Too early in the morning girls Ive told you if youre going to call me that
Ill shut you downignore you
Grandpoo!
he parted them a hand to their chest and gently pressed them
to the walls
Excuse
me ignoramuses
they tried to grab his arms to hold
him but he slipped them and under a hail of Grandpoo Grandpoo Grandpoo at his back he went up the hall into
diningroom where through the pass-through he could see his daughter drying a
coffee cup to fill it for him
Good morning love
she smiled widely her dimples deep her mothers dimples he could only wish he had dimples
Good morning, Dad, sleep well, dream?
Yes Yes Yourself Sleep well and dream
Yes. Yes. I’ll
pour your coffee and we can sit and talk, share our dreams.
Good Then Ill take it you had pleasant dreamsbeen
a bit
Yes. It has been a bit. A
wonderful dream. I dreamt of Mom.
seventeen years later Mom made
his throat tightentears work into his eyes he wiped them quickly his daughter
didnt see
How fortunate are you Did you
recognise her right off
when he dreamed of his wife she came
to him as a different woman rarely
herself a different woman who had her
hazel eyes which belied her as theyd speak
Yes, right off. I was walking
Spirit and she waved to me, hailed me, and crossed the pasture toward me. I walked towards her and we embraced and kissed. I held Spirit’s reins and we walked him hand in
hand.
she set his black coffee on the table
before where he sat set her cup down pulled out the chair and sat
Spirit and Mom In the country It cant get any better than thatcan it
she smiled huge
I’d have to think
but I don’t think so . . maybe if you were there too.
In a dream as rare as Mom visits me unlikely
Maybe. Though I appreciate your
unlikely to an absolute like never.
Boom A philosophical morning begins
But before I forget he reached
over and took her hand I love you
I love you.
he leaned towards her she met
him halfway they kissed once they kissed a second time
they sat back
Black coffee and kisses Cant think of a better way to start my
morning
Me neither.
the cup she filled for himwashed for
him was his favourite of her coffee cups it was decorated with a replica of a Joan Miro canvas
he
preferred the Miro to the various Van Goghs she had it spoke to him
it was very much like his
daughter her gentle thoughtful generous
nature which she readily extended to him
Thank you for serving me Miros
cup
she blinked and smiled
it seemed he
surprised her that he noticed every time
You’re welcome, Dadu. she loved teasing him with her new moniker she had addressed a letter and either in her
haste or distracted by the girls she wrote Dadu rather than Dad and seeing her
error she sent it anyway
You certainly are observant, have an eye for
detail.
Actually love thats rather an eye for beauty An how graced I am this morning to be able to
have coffee with my beautiful daughter
Awshucks, golly geewhiz. Am I blushing? she laughed deeply
MyGawd he thought Ill never get enough of her laugh he laughed with her
1737, Sunday,
8 3. 20
1204, Reggae Friday, 4 9.
20
when he could finally lift his
eyes off her beautiful face
her triumphant smile had slipped her
colour draining and grey
over the top of her head he
looked into her backyard her roses her wisteria breaking into bloom and fragrance her grapevines flourishing
anhe witnessed an abrupt winda sigh shake the plants anfrom a dandelion a whitetopped woven seed
shook free anrose into the air rose into the sky climbing
he climbed on top of it
he wanted to be high
to look down on the world that was suddenly empty her lifeforce escaped
anhe
rose high into the blue sky an found that he wasnt looking down into the
neighbourhood where she died
he floated over the green pond
that was a block over from the quadruplex they lived in in Minnesota when she
was a little girl
where he defied the posted
sign No Swimming anhad her hold onto his trapeze as he breaststroked
anchased dragonflies an tadpoles an the occasional big fish that rose near its
center far from where people couldnt possibly cast
anhe saw her with a
crooked stick in her hand he snapped off a fallen limb an tied a string to an
fixed a hook on an baited with a split earthworm they dug up an watched as she cried proudly Daddy! I caught fish! anhe freed
the small perch or bluegill an had her hold it an tell it Go get your bigger
brother or sister to come for me to catch . . anhe made her kiss it
goodbye which she did because he told her They were so kind to play with you, don’t you
think they deserve a kiss goodbye? You might
not ever see them again. They may swim down down down past the Frog Prince’s
castle who on occasion has come to our front door to pursue you to the hole in
the bottom of the pond that connects to a winding tunnel that lets them swim free
to the other ponds and lakes around us.
up up up down down down deep inside himself he sought comfort with memories
his baby girl had just died
1439, Sunday,
23 2. 20
1449, Thursday,
3 9. 20
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