periwinkle Eyes thought he could sell honey to a beekeeper  

hubris
dismissing their warnings that he  was old school 

                                                                                  school around Christs time 

they told him he was thick

little or no formal education

grew up on the streets

but Eyes saw another way

as he would

--   You just let me work my charm

Well see

  

                Otherwise   why are you paying me

they supposed theyd let him find out for himself

 --   Dead lifts  you say

he didnt follow

--   Dead lifts  in a gym 

over the years hed been in a few   old neighborhood gyms that smelled of stale sweat lye leather disinfectant

smelled of punished men

it seemed chancey  a fuckin longshot  in a gym   

fittin ones head through a noose

Dead lift  Its a lift

--   I hear ya

I know dead lifts

--   So whats with the grim face

--   Seems stupid to me

And Im stupid

--   Its competitive

--   Not in the neighborhood Im from

Or em around me

Dead lifts are for mooks  Punks

Thats ground floor in the basement shit

Yawan up ot of der fast  Anya only go back for something rare

                                                                                      

For a huge fuckin return

--   No

Come on  

Its pure technique

--   Its always technique

If it aint science  A B Cs  Eye to detail

Heavy price to pay

--   Yes

You can really hurt yourself

--   Yah

--   Then

              Were agreed

--   Agreed

                 Cept for where

I keep dead lifts outdoors

I mean otada gym

No thank you

--   I take it you havent worked with a spotter

--   A spotter

Why woud I do dat

I fuckin sleep alone

Dun chance talkin in my sleep

--   A spotter can help

--   Da fuck

his exasperation gnawing at the back of his neck 

                                                                                 rubbing at it with a scarred paw

Ya don look stupid

Guess looks aint everytin

--   If you hear me out                                                                                  

I can help you

--   I ave

Yaint

Aint buyin whaya sellin

Were dun

Eyes had something else up his sleeve 

taught one never takes No
crucial

as he drew his breath the old codger put a many-times-broken finger to his lips

--   Ssshh

 

Or Ill crush ya windpipe

Eyes thought It isnt no

I can take that

he nodded

the old man pushed his face away with his finger

Eyes lips might bruise

1444,  Day-Between-Two-Ts,  8  4. 15

on occasion

                    she sucked every bit of oxygen out of the room   crowded it with her

undaunted presence

and that  Overbearingness(if he would) 

  

she didnt have

had she  it would have favored her

unfortunately she sided with making nice

usually at her deficit

                                  making damn sure everyone else was lined up ahead of her

he couldnt turn her around or otherwise

when he needed her help then

she refused

                   Now when she comes around he finds

she wields it flawlessly  

held confined in a brisk steady hand

 

never occurs to him to chide her   

                                                   remark   Its about time

                                                                                         Time was no longer theirs

to play in

   

she came Now wholly at her discretion  a nonblinking Singularity

                                                                                                            seeking him   and he 

it was his to Wait

   

until she came

he had no force to deliberately invoke or provoke her presence

he had to sit there and take her when she came

                                                                                                                                          How very  Strange  it is

                 

how very strange she didnt have it when having it would have been marvelous  Then

pertinent

a keen edge held to the throats of those who diminished her when she was here 

before    

           she chose to leave

and now that she has it she wastes it on him

when he                           

               was the one who adamantly tried to take her by the shoulders   firmly

and keep her at the front of the line 

she didnt like it when he did it

he knew it

hed say

--   Thats too damn bad

curtly

because he was done with the abuse they heaped on her

if he wasnt with her  an outlier  hed have been in their midst with mad fists and sharp elbows before they knew what hit them

violence   has its purpose

maybe a last resort

  

and they were due

they were long   overdue

Too damn bad now

he supposed her breathless stops Now

harkened him

                         --   Thats too damn bad 

                                                                                                                  

                                                                       but shes just too damn polite to say so herself

 

0939,  Saturday,  4  4. 15

1347,  Easter Sunday,  5  4. 15