Of all the things that haunted him  and there were many

the one he loathed

he despised

was the antiseptic shadow of a satellite dish affixed to his roof cast by the moonlight

every evening there was moonlight

and under Californias bright blue sunlit skies

rarely was it inhibited

its disproportionate Cyclopean head stabbed on a slender metal stalk leered into the 

yard 

lingered over and peered into the freestanding metal firepit

then as an afterthought

cast sidelong glances at the fragrant black rosemary bushes

the last tenant had it deployed

he didnt remove it because it wasnt his job
and because the holes it made in the roof were already filled

  

when his landlord tendered the property he coyly copped it     an amenity

and was slightly confused and a little bit uncomfortable when they didnt use it

--   No thank you we dont watch television (let alone four hundred channels)

 

its shadow was reminiscent of a graveyard marker hed also never have

his ashes were to be stirred across the earth by its sighs breezes and lusty winds

his toiletry before bed was always interrupted  and concluded by its silent convocation

between it and he

it seemed they were to silently mock each other

as if one was to remind the other that capitulation were never in their cards   either

during their ridiculous tête-à-tête 

or anywhere

heels were dug in fast and hard

there was no faint-of-heart in their play

                                                                                        

and inside the house it was likewise

when spirits became rambunctious and mistakenly vied for attention  he had words for 

them

--   Best to be like a cat

Surely you remember cats

their tom  --  if they chose to forget  --  was an ample and vivacious reminder

what he loved about felines were their ability to tolerate him   as he tolerated them

yes

occasionally he wanted to be held or loved up  but when he wanted to be

and every cat he had or ever knew was exactly in kind

so

spirits were welcome in their house as long as they respected this basic tenant

                                 

there was only one outlier

a jet black spirit who they couldnt see through

the others were tangible vapors or gauzeish 

                                                                            

one evening

exhausted by making love they broke their embrace and laid sighing side by side

his lover fell asleep

he catnapped  too warmed through and overheated to fall asleep

he laid naked on top of the sheets trying to conjure fresh air in through the open window
to finally cool and tame him

looking over his foot through the bedroom door he saw a roiling black stripe

it was before the bathroom door where a nightlight burned behind it

the nightlight and bathroom mirror were blocked from his view

he closed his eyes briefly

when he opened his eyes again the stripe filled the bedroom doorway

he saw it

but he didnt acknowledge it

when he shut his eyes again he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his chest

and a coil about his body

opening his eyes they were filled in blackness as if he had been dropped into a void

he was paralyzed

he couldnt turn his head

he couldnt raise his arms up from his sides

he actually wondered if Death was that cowardly

Fearfully

he barked

and emitting that sharp inhuman sound the blackness spun off him retreating to the 

bedroom doorway

he sat up

then stood at the foot of the bed

--   You have my attention  he growled  his Fear sidestepping his outrage

 

the blackness retreated into the hallway with him pursuing it

he tried to grabbed it but his hand passed through it 

then it disappeared

 

he stalked through the house looking for it  room to room

and exhausting all the rooms he unlocked the front door and went out onto the porch 

through the screen door

he followed the porch around each corner foolishly

he knew better

he entered the front door back into the house and standing in the livingroom he said

--   What  You have my attention now

he stood silently

listening to the white noise of the night in and outside of the house for what turned out

to be another hour 

their embrace was at Three by the hands of the antique wall clock ticking on the 

bedroom wall

 

he locked the front door

he went up the hallway and looked on her fast asleep in bed and covered her arresting

nakedness and beauty with the sheet

he then went into the nightlightlit bathroom and urinated heavily

outside the bathroom window it had wiggled some

beat up by the moonlight

thrown into a different attitude

straitjacketed to the ground

  

the shadow of the satellite dish

 

Then  he might have had apathy for it    or pitied its plight

2316,  Sunday,  5  10. 14

--   O M D

--   D

Its G

O M  G

--   Dont think so . . . is it . . why do I think O M D

--   Beats the hell out of me

Its Oh My God

--   Thats it  Youve cleared it up

O M D wouldnt be Oh My God

--   No

Its not

--   But then I dont use acronyms much  And therein lies my obvious  oblivious confusion . . . O O C

--   Obvious confusion  as if theres something to be confused about

--   Ive slipped all those social media traps  Im out of the loop when it comes to its nowhere nomenclature 

Its exceptional when O M D crosses my mind  Very likely Im just taunting all the crap ricocheting around me
the iThese  iThose  iSaturated  iInebriated

When is someone going to drive a wooden stake through its heart cut off its head toss its body into a fiftyfive gallon oil drum and light the beast on fire

iImmolate

                                                

--   A little too ferocious for my tastes

 

--   O M D  You have to admit it piques whets your appetite

Its salacious

My ferocity checkmates your hardon 

Already youve a trove of electronicViagra  ingested  or wrapped in

Somehow I see you attracted to women adorned in pulsating tropic-coloured LED ribbons and loops scented with atomised pina colada and clutching offering you handfuls of swollen augmented breasts

They dont care their nipples have no feelings  They look fantastic!

--   I think youve thought about this a little bit too much

--   No  Not really

Its more like dipping into a deep cistern filled with water sifted through the earth for thousands of years

Quaffing at cold collective unconsciousness

Once upon a time called common sense

 

To me this all reeks of distemper

O M D

  

--   Okay

Ill bite

--   Oh My Dog

A little slapstick huh

--   A little

--   And thats as good as it gets should anyone count on me becoming immersed or self-flagellation

Move it along please

Aint no baptism here

1640,  Twosday,  6  10. 14