He would have thought it a cold day in
hell(a sore tired idiom if ever was) hed
ever have to upbraid his parents for their rudeness
the same rudeness if he
exhibited would have gotten him a
one-way ticket as a child to the basement to await their pleasure to descend and scour
his mouth with a bar of brown laundry soap
Fels-Naptha tastes like gritty shit hed encourage everyone to take him at his
word
he knew of what
he spoke
at some time it unrevealed to him
taking him completely unawares
his parents quit conducting
themselves to the standard they held him to as he grew up
that which he was chided for and punished
carried no water for them
actions he did or was accused of somehow provoking them to public displays of
corporal punish
humiliating him
they revoked
effectively provided
themselves self-permission passes
How does this work he asked
they blanched feigned outrage ignorance why did he choose always to be so hyperbolic
and Wrong
he reminded them that his
memory which they confirmed time and
time again mouths agape that he should
remember things so clearly
that his memory was long and hard
who
the fuck were they trying to kid
they didnt care for his
grrlfriend
they didnt know his grrlfriend
and because
he
physically lived across the entire United States from them it was no matter he wouldnt be lurking behind peonies or rose
bushes to try and overhear them denigrate her
or him behind their backs
because they taught him
eavesdropping was rude improper it informed others he was illmannered uncouth
secondhand he heard their slights
and despite the veracity of the tellers and the confidence he had in those who
said
he put their offenses away
though he remembered
at some later date an itch would
need scratching
then he would remind them with their own words
usually when they sought to manipulate him for some ungodly irrational
advantage that occurred to them
Are you hearing yourself
Do you hear really hear what you are saying to me
their latest insult was directed at
his younger brother
they didnt care for his
grrlfriend
they didnt know her
and he didnt physically live
across the entire United States from them
they
lived within fifteen minutes of each other
his parents despite knowing her name never called her by her name
for that matter
his grrlfriend either
because that that has no name does not exist
either a desperate witchs spell or black
magic chant or an archaic Old World belief
his parents first generation born In-country
they decided his brothers
grrlfriend didnt have a name
only
after he dressed them down during a telephone call on his dime for calling her a leech
A leech Are you really referring to her as a
leech Fuck Really
Her name is Lucinda
and since
they simply refuse to
acknowledge her
or acknowledge his grrlfriend
hed speak mentioning both women by name and as if suddenly deaf they said nothing
refused to say anything
treated
him as if he were dead air
but that act was thrown on its
head when his brothers proposed to Lucinda
months later
their deafness has grown small ears
they referred to her as his brothers
Frau
Excuse me
Frau
Do you know what a Frau is
they still didnt have to hear
him
there was nothing
Frau is German --
they arent -- German for either a married woman or a widowed
woman
though if one looked Frau up in
the dictionary as he did perhaps what they were saying was fraud
the d silent
fraud
is defined immediately beneath Frau
their passive-aggressiveness was warped
just enough to slip that by everyone and soothe themselves thinking no one else would catch onto their so
very clever sly game
and Lucinda still a young woman may not have met or recognised disingenuous people
and actually believe her soon-to-be in-laws thought suddenly
kindly of her
because thats where honest people
would come down
honesty
what
was that
he was exercised aware
and
shamelessly copped yet another unremarkable idiom
something is rotten in
Denmark
Corruption
he sputters like hot bacon fat at
their obtuse lies
which is a terrible thing to say goodness
of one parent
let alone unfortunately
both
they were steadfast
it wasnt going to occur to
either of them not ever to redeem themselves
1815, Twosday,
28 7. 15
2343, Thursday,
30 7. 15
