She broke up with me.  sob caught in his throat

he wanted to be kind he was an egghead they had dated threefour times

                                                                 Im   unsure  you were in a relationship  You were dating

It was more than that.

to his mind

            If I may  how did you see it meaning more

Not it. riled

              We had a relationship we were in a relationship.

saying it over and over does not make it so

                                       Dating  How was it more than dating

I’d expect that you’d know.

I don

       Inform me

It was blushed sexual.

   Usually Id be the last to ask

                                    Sexual he knew herspent time with her  they didnt date  they fucked  How so

You want me to kiss an’ tell?

                                I want her reputation . . retained . maintained . . untainted. I’m a gentleman.

treading lightly appeared he was going to have to play a game he hadnt since a kid  an adolescent

                                                                                         Between you an me  Wha base

Base?

The old couldnt resist old  old game  between boys and girls

                                                                 How far did you getfirst base  second

I’d still be telling.

Yah egghead

             Youd be tellin meitd go no furthurIve been in relationships

To be fair

You have not enjoyed many I just   just  I just want you to be clear

   We petted.

petted

           he was speechless

You’ll not say?

   Im your friend Im a friend of hers

                                         Mums the word

Thank you

he usually wasnt one to pull fancy wordshighfalutin vocabulary

                                                         Youre welcome

I imagine it was a  a fairly stunning  peripeteia

Yes, gripped my heart and shook me.

he nodded

               peripeteia  a sudden reversal of fortunatechange of  circumstances  ya tuckaway a word like tha don forget  eventually occasions present

after 10PM,  Tuesday,  18  3. 25

0944,  Wednesday,  19  3. 25

. . . haste makes wastecautions himself all the time under his breath though  sometimes  it codifies the oddest things

Codifies? How do you mean?

I made a typing errorfound it as I edited the piece

                                                        But the word really attracted me  so I let it be

You didn’t correct an error. Was it obvious?

Correct

            I let it stand

If I may, the word.

Actually a name

Name?

I name my plants trees  like I name pets my outdoor ferals

                                                               A name for everything an everything in its place

What was your error?

Misstroked H  hit G

                        Was naming a saplin . .

. . What kind of tree?

No fuckin idea

                 As a young sprout it intrigued me so I dug it up potted it  think two years  until it grew legs Then transplanted it into the backyard

It exhibited a glib waywardness

Made me think of dreads

Its leaves?

No   Its totallyrelaxed manner

A tree has a manner?

Ifya pay attention

So the name that attracted you so much that you didn’t change . . . is a tree's name?

Yah

       I thought as I typed  whirlwind   Whirlwind

Came out Wgirlwind

                          Which

If I had an opportunity to date a woman called Whirlwind

In a heartbeat

Wgirlwind

A nanoheartbeat

So you have a tree in your backyard you call Wgirlwind?

I do

      I talk to it the others my pets the feral every day   Every day

Christ.

         I don’t even talk to my girlfriend every day.

Im a solo act  I talk to them every day accost them daily

Accost?

Sometimes they seem to appear accosted

                                             But thas my style  Confrontational   Aggressive

Theyre flourishing

some time earlier this year  '25

1305,  Tuesday,  18  3. 25

ethos

               in America

he was pretty sure if he went between enough sofa seatcushions hed find some   paltry    loosechange

ethos  character

 

Between   Under cushions

Yah

       Not readily accessible in this America

   This   America

Yah

         No brainer

You exhibit ethos

Informed by my ethics which my parents enforced

                                                       They did not spare the rod

Ethos  One of threefour  rhetorical appeals to persuade people 

                                                                       First ones credibility

Youre credible

Were

          Credible

Thank you

Youre welcome

The other appeals

Yah of course

                  Emotional connexion  Called pathos

Logical reasoning   Logos

   Anya know these why

Recently read an article in The New York Review of Books

                                                                Who knew reviews coud be so fascinating

You said threefour

Yes  Kairos

               Timing  Timeliness   Critical moment  Opportune time

I believe the three prior more important

they chuckled Ethos

Yah

        Whas funny

Ethos in America  this America

Yah

Its Greek to me

   despite himself he snickered  Crazy Mariachis

 

2302,  Monday – St. Paddy’s Day,  17  3. 25

1123,  Tuesday,  18  3. 25

Who’s that?  he motioned at the television screen

Blueskys Graber

Bluesky’s?

A microblogging social media service  Part of your social network

Mine?

Yours

   Why would you know that?

Stumbled on it better than a month agowha  whadoes her tshirt say I cant make it out

Looks like it begins  . . . with . Latin?  U N D U S.

Seems room before tha

Then S . . .  N?

No  I think I the letter I   Her tshirts folding at her armpit

U N D U S . . S I . . .

Definitely something to do with Caesar below  C A E S A R I B U S

Yes. That’s plain as day.

Yah  Plug tha into your everpresent iPhone see what shakes out woudya

Why don’t you . . . where’s your phone?

At home

Why is your phone at home?

Its my house phone  Its right where it belongsbesides yours is never far away

                                                                                     Addicted

Shes an unusuallookin woman

She is.

           There’s . . . nothing under U N D U S.

Plug in the Caesar we can make out

Eyes in the phone. Would you spell it for me, please?

C  A  E  S  A  R  I  B  U  S

Thank youthere we go.

                          Brings up Epitone de Caesaribus.

Scroll down

   Scrolling.

Don make tha facerestin bitchy face

What?

Nothing

           I cant watch

 

Got it.

           In the space before was the letter M. It’s M U N D U S. Followed by S I N E.

M U N D U S  S I N E  C A E S A R I B U S

That’s it.

Latin

Yeah.

 

   Yah  Whas it mean

Ohyeah.

             Means . . . a world without Caesars.

Definitely political

Definitely.

Felon

Definitely.

Good for Graber  Makes me like herher product more

What?Wait.

Wha

Are you thinking of going on social media?

Ohno

        Im just remarking tha her product seems most legit from wha I understand about social media platforms

Im not goin socialHell no

Im antisocial

Ascetic.

Introvert

             But I know people tha are more so than me  At least I can be performativeHell  wha am I sayin All introverts are actors when they have to be  Its a survival skill

I like MUNDUS SINE CAESARIBUS

Me too.

Hashtag

What?

Nothing  Forget it

1408,  Monday,  17  3. 25

1023,  Tuesday,  18  3. 25

Gimme the last time

Ya leanin on me

   Possibly

                     Last time you can remember

Remember

                Such an odd elementreductive

Crude

Perhaps

           Though youre fortunatearent you you   possess   known to possess  a long memory

I know Ive been convinced

                              Have receiptsconfirmations of by  my parents

I spookedem a bit                   

   The last time

Last time  Stoned

                      Havin at this

Yah

he smiledsnarled it looked uncomfortable

                                                 Truth be known     Dislike tha line

Tell me  I know when

You do

           Ive no apologises  They grewup to be   be more than me

They were brilliantborn  brilliant

                                       See thasee tha shit  Ya know    You appreciatesavor it

I had mad appreciation

Evenif   I wasnt sober

                           But

Me sober unsober  werent terribly far apart

                                                   Raisin a kid was kneejerk reaction

For me

Not my wife

                 But

I was a brood eldest

                        She was three of fourkidsister not trailing her by much more than a year raisin kids was as natural as takin a shit

   Soyah

               Last time I wrote loaded was when my wife was out of town my kids were asleep upstairs

Worked out well

 

Now

       No kids  Cats

Anthey coud give twoshits

0013,  Tuesday,  18  3. 25

crossed himself up on a text   wrote  erred

                                               id      had meant is

corrected himself  :   :  is    not id

   is  being

id  primal  instinctual

                           the completelyunconscious part of our personalities that drive our basic needs  desires  which operate on Freuds pleasure principle  seek immediate gratification

                                                                                         Unfortunately

IS  is conscious

ID  understands how harrowing immediate gratification can be

1235,  Monday – St Paddy’s Day,  17  3. 25

2354,  Monday – St Paddy’s

he was reading under his breath  Now theres a word I can get my head around

she chuckled

               they were sitting on opposite end of the couchbacks to the armstheir legs intertwined barefooted soles to crotches

                              looked over the top of her bookher glasses  What word’s that?

Slish

   How is it spelled?

S L I S H   He slished the rope with his knife

Cut.

Yah  Cut slit  slashed

                           Slished

I’ll guess it’s obsolete?

It is

       Youre guessing because you never heard it before

   No.  Because odd things attract you.

                                                I did.

You do

The second timeround.

Thank Gawd for tha

she gentlypushed her solekneaded with her toes his crotch

he applied pressure with his big toe

   Yawann . .

. . That’d be nice.

bookmarked their books unwoundretracted their legsturned on their hipsfound their feetbeat it down the hall to the bedroom

how she did it he never figuredshe sat furthest away

                                                           but always beat him to bed

bounded gleefully

                   like tryin to tame a Mexican jumping bean   frijoles saltarines

      

   sometimes  used restraints

1222,  Sunday,  16  3. 25

1128,  Monday – St Paddy’s Day,  17  3. 25

triggered himhe laughed to himself

                                                               Yagonna say

Sure.  he did

                 I’m trying to remember who said it where I heard it.

Ive not heard it before

                          turned to the gal who wandered into their mix   You

I’ve never heard it.

Surely you have.

he and she looked at each other

                                  chorused emphatically  NO.

You’ve never heard that before?

Yawaitin on the echo

she laughed

              Echo.  Yeah.      What’s it supposed to mean?

Being satisfied with enough. Being too greedy or ambitious, one’s downfall.

   he shook his head

                       If I had to say  Id say pigs are fucked hogs are slaughtered Id rather die

she howled

You understand  an homage to Deliverance

OhJesus.

Yah  Don play clever in these parts

                                        It doesnt befit you

she was still laughing snorted

after 3PM,  Sunday,  16  3. 25

1047,  Monday – St Paddy’s Day,  17  3. 25

Saint Paddy’s Day

Guinness   stout  not the draught    couldnt tolerate nitro

                                                               he bought it brought it

she arrived later

You got to have a sip.

I’ve never cared much for beer.

This isnt beer Its Guinness

Oh it’s Guinness.

                   she took the bottlesipped  swallowed Yeah I don’t care for that.

You bring wine?

Champagne.

Wow Saint Paddy woud be so honoured

                                             So when did you discover learn you didnt like beer

I was young. My boyfriend and I got a motel room he brought beer.

You were thirteen

she punched him in the armThirteen. No. Sixteenseventeen.

Its okay you were thirteenno judgment

                                          Didnt like the beer but liked the sex

Loved the sex.

Dig the enthusiasm

                      looked at his buddy who offered her the Guinness  Yagonna get in on this

I’m sure she wasn’t thirteen. She’s sweet.

Oh for Christssake yawanna quit blowin smoke up her ass

Actually. she said  It feels nice.

he spun on his heels ass to buddy bent over  Blow some up mine then woudya

                                                                                     they were off an runnin

after 3PM,  Sunday,  16  3. 25

1203,  Monday – St Paddys Day,  17  3. 25

. . . this . . and then that.

Really

         I thought we agreedit was understood   no  and then that or and that

Goes without saying

Twice in five minutes

OH, but you get to rattle off three aversions inside a minute.

They were tangential

                        Rolled off my tongue

Keggers, frats, a third, what was the third?

Team player

Yeah. What’s with that? Sports you played were within the confines of being part of a team.

Part of being   ON a team

Distinction without a difference.

I disagree

You played with a team.

I played my partvirtually always outplayed members on the team  Hence the separateness I celebrated  Ive told you high school competitions teams fielded were weak  lost considerably more games than won

                                                                                                         But

Because I shutdown my opponentmy  assignment   the teams failure to win wasnt on my back

I succeeded

But . . . as you like to say . . your team lost.

I won

         Thereby my aversion to teams

And your aversions to keggers and frats?

You must admit they go hand in hand

                                         Frats look for pledges  Team members

I can admit that.

Yah

       Ya joined a frat  Note I didnt say  in college  because tha woud be redundant woud be  understood apodeictic axiomatic

The aversionswhy  they rolled off my tonguetried beer from a kegger it was shit so afterwards always brought my own ansince frats plied people with keggers  they were shit  pledges team members  theyre shit

Youre the only exception Ive been able to tolerate

Tolerate?

               Like you’re a bundle of joy?

Im not

        The difference is   you care

I coud care less

after 2PM,  Sunday,  16  3. 25

1008,  Monday – St Paddy’s Day,  17  3. 25

 

                                                                     Anything

 

 

     Not yet

Mariachi wanna kick in

crossed their arms over their chests

Methinks not

Wheres tha from

Methinks

Yah

Old English me long e thyncth T H Y N C T H me long e means to me plus thyncth which means it seems which fellatesOops  Freudian slip  relates to think

Hell of a slip

                    Thas something

No decentDAMN again  meant recent  recent slips

Hey man twice in two sentences

                                      Cant keep on track

Ive no idea

               Though  honestly   diggin thyncth  an attractive word in lower case don ya think

Seems  to be

It do

Mariachi uncrossed themselves and meandered away

Seems  they werent impressed

It do

It do   Iditarod don make a face Im playintryin to make something out of nothing

Methinks youre failing

Methinks your right

                       I declare my rite to fail

   Right Rite Write

Three rights or rites or writes don make a wrong

Standin the old sayinidiom on its head

Why the fuck not

Im with you

You are me

Mebbe youre me

Keep it up an Ill bring another mirror into the bathroom an well be uncounted iterations of one of us

A crowd

Crowingcrowd

                     Does crowd written down look odd to you

Now thayave mentioned it  yah

Mebbe we better stop this nonsense

                                         But it has been fun   Anything  A thing

1120,  Sunday,  16  3. 25