Friends & Neighbors
Different Plans
I don’t know how long I can do this, he said. I think the universe has different plans for me & we sat there in silence & I thought to myself that this is the thing we all come to & this is the thing we all fight & if we are lucky enough to lose, our lives become beautiful with mystery again & I sat there silent because that is not something that can be said.
Day Break
liking each other because it’s a beautiful day & it seems like a waste of time to disagree about stuff the other one is refusing to change out of sheer stubbornness
Curiosity
Can I count on you to be there, no matter what? she said & I said no & she said what kind of friend are you? & I said the kind who won’t lie to you any time you want & I think she kept me around as a curiosity after that
Dance Pick
I don’t mind dancing with you, he told her one night, as long as I get to pick the dance sometimes. OK, she said, you pick. So they went home & made popcorn & looked at magazines all night long
Dancing Mailman
Our mailman was a dance teacher at night & I would watch him sometimes to see if he would deliver mail differently than the others. I expected to see him leap over bushes with his toes pointing like arrows, but all he ever did was walk.
Dangerous Thoughts
Filled to the brim with dangerous thoughts & no where to put them since she lives in a small town & everybody’s always watching.
Crowd
She always camouflaged herself as a crowd. I’ve never been lonely, she said, but sometimes it’s hard to think above the noise.
Country Dance
One summer we visited my grandparents, I remember we went to a dance in the country. The band was loud & enthusiastic & there were so many people my glasses got steamed up. After a while, the band stopped for a drink & my ears were still ringing & I looked up & there were strings of white lights scattered like stars all over the ceiling & I wondered if it was this bright out in space where there were no people & then the band started playing another polka & the quiet slipped out to the front porch with all the other old guys.
Cold Climate
Does everyone around here pretend they don’t like sex? she said
& I nodded. O, she said, then we should probably not get
to be friends, because I’m going to have to move soon.
Broken Down
this is a machine that’s supposed to make people good &
true & kind & the funny thing is that it works best
when it’s completely broken down so everyone has to stop what
they’re doing & get together & figure out how to fix it.
Brotherhood of Man
I’m much better at the brotherhood of man thing, he said,
when I can afford to live in a good neighborhood.
Big Purse
I never trusted her for a minute, she said. Her purse was way too big.
Big Strange Family
I don’t think of it as working for world peace, he said. I think of it as just trying to get along in a really big strange family.
Big Strange Family (feminine)
I don’t think of it as working for world peace, she said. I think of it as just trying to get along in a really big strange family.
Big Hat
I said I could not see her eyes under her hat & she smiled mysteriously & said she liked it that way.
Best of Times
I’d like to leave you with something valuable, she said. You probably already have, I said, but we take most of our lives to remember that, even in the best of times
Beautiful People
I have a friend who reads people’s auras. He sees all sorts of colors like green & red & purple. He says anyone can do it. All it takes is forgetting everything you think you know & just looking. I’ve tried it & even though I haven’t seen any colors yet, everyone I meet looks so beautiful when I stop knowing everything, that it’s pretty hard to go back to the old way.
Back to Me
We don’t have much time, he said, so I’ll just tell you about me.
Bad Fit
Certain types of people don’t fit in here, she told me when we first moved in. Just assume you’re one of them & you’ll be fine.
Balancing Act
I have a friend who used to ride bareback in a circus. In one picture I’ve seen she is wearing blue sequins with her smile spread wide as her arms. One time I asked her was it hard to balance? No, she said, you always balance. Only sometimes, she added, you balance on your butt.