what they tell us in the night
What they want in the day
What they hint at on the phone
I try not to be ashamed
I always want to say more
But it's just soft sand
Wanna be rock you adore
Wanna be grand
What they tell me underneath
Subtle hints I cannot read
They tell me they're a feast
And that I'll soon feed
Tell me through telepathy
I gather each piece carefully
Digest, misunderstand predictably
What they say is lovely
Is there a jar?
It's too sweet in here
Each surface is sticky
The abholstered seat, furry
The sugar seems to have its own smell
The boiled candy awaits fingers
Like a cinema screen awaits eyes
The aisles littered with popcorn
Sarah ajar
Waiting for your mother
Sarah stands and the seat flicks back up
Sarah sees the closing credits come down
But where is mother?
Where is father?
She has been abandoned
With just a jar of boiled sweets
Ive seen the speckled cat
The treasured wall where it would bask
I have seen the signs
The road is long, the road will wind
I've seen the speckled cat
Found the rare penny
Rusted from the rain
stuck inside the tar
I patted the cat
the past spoke
It yelled
It drove onto the shoulder
I patted the cat
The past whispered
It calmed
It breaked toward the intersection
I've seen the speckled cat
It meowed at my arrival
It stared at me
As if the road itself was mine
The way was blocked by rubbish men
Gruff and impatient menacing even
Standing together intimidated
I just wanted to get through
I just wanted to have what is mine
The tunnel was closed
And they made some quick quip
in their speak in their lip
I didn't get it
But must have been funny
The sun angled down
It was trying to heat the morning
Inside houses that faced eastward
Windows facing welcomed the rays
The sun came in like a welcomed visitor
Smiling in through the glass
reaching for the coffee
looking down into it at its own reflection
Pulling out before midday to migrate across the valleys
Visit the rest of the inhabitants whose houses face westward
He walked across the pavement though the garden fence
All the way into vacant frigid garage spaces
He shook my hand that day
Told me all was right with the world
I took his advice
and relaxed
The boy that greeted me was my nephew
Hadn't formed a bad opinion about me yet
Hugged me and told me that he admired me
For what, he didn't mention specifically
The breakfast room crackled with optimism
People gleeful, I watched from the doorway invisible
I was behind in their bizarre race. moments of accolade
It seemed anomalies such as I were tolerated
By the blacksheep coming of age
I was some mythical hero
But by the societal weave of tunnel vision stewards
I was a person to tolerate
Cake tea and advice
My father's ghost dressed in a tuxedo
To celebrate but another raw achievement for the family
I Looked in once more from the outside window, then drove away
A motion sensor light went on
from a car that had arrived after dark
It's headlights shone through the front
Lighting up the entry of the house
Something crawled near the open front door
Then the car slowly reversed and turned
We searched the entrance for the thing we saw
But whatever it was it hid too well
Then we went outside to see if the car had actually left
Half expecting to see that it was still there
It had pulled out and driven away
It was gone
We searched the hedges
And outside of the house
Nothing...
