last wednesday, af...

last wednesday, after moving boxes labeled fragile, a few interrogations between siblings over stellas were complimented by a hot chocolate while the rain fell. i may have chosen to word those explanations differently, paying particular attention to punctuation and certain french pronunciations. nevertheless, i still wait for the occasion where i can use the ray bradbury answer; seventeen and insane. i pass up opportunity because the chances have grown more and more transparent. seventeen was such a long time ago. thursday evening i took a brisk walk pass the courthouse, followed by a brief visit to an address that came before the elgin street diner. glasses of wine, one puff, two puff, eight puffs of a weak cigarette. we sat in the back, one with legs crossed, and myself with toes pointed inward. spill the wine and then your mind would've been our slogan had there been a need for one. the four walls were lined with cases of niagara shiraz stacked to the ceiling. i went through the unlabeled boxes of used books and discovered a few gems, a few keepers. friday morning there was a multi car fender bender that interrupted my sleep. one car became an accordion, and the body bags outnumbered the stretchers if i had decided to count. all was cleared for the afternoon traffic. lately, i've been walking to and from the parks alone, sitting with my back against a naked tree i let the wind turn the pages for me. these afternoons do not last, because the relationships of the city have fallen like chains at my feet. they come knocking at the door at even and odd hours of the day. as i welcome them in, they settle into vomiting their words onto my bedsheets, leaving their stains and memories for me to bleach and polish.