I got me some tired eyes down by the liquor store. On sale, three for ninety-nine. And my lord, who could pass up such a steal? I laid down my ten spot and swept my dangling, jangling change up off that counter and knew I’d have a time. And swell it was and swell it is still.
And mountains make quakes at the bottom of that lake and I saw a fish hook on the mouth of a broken beer bottle. Glittering shards and mountains of lard, that’s all I needed to make it work. And I coulda been like that fella on the t.v. who could make it to outer space with five sticks of chewin’ gum and the farts from six cans of them pork ‘n’ beans. Inspired fella he was! But before I forget, them’s on sale down at the market. Now I cain’t remember which one ‘xactly, but just pull out the ads in this here morning’s paper and you’ll see it. …Laws, child, now what was I sayin’?
And the Magic Eightball says, “You shoulda bought a Rubik’s Cube.” What do you even say to that? So I shook it once more and then mushrooms were waving in an irridescent wind. I didn’t know what to do so I waved back.
Should it matter, ain’t nary a word of this true. ‘Course I reckon you know that seeing as how sleeping hours are filling the page and the page is filling the waking day. Truth is my joints are aching and my bed is made. It seems like two very contradictory things, but rest assured that they are fully unrelated…even if they ain’t. Now, I’m just gonna say one more thing then you wake on up…
“Rest ya mouth child. Just rest it. It’s been workin’ too hard. You usin’ up all the words on God’s good green earth and ain’t said nary a thing. So just hesh up ’til you got something worth sayin’. And you jest watch, you stop talking so much, you’ll be amazed at what you see. An’ I reckon you could see a lot more if your eyes weren’t so blamed tired. What kinda bags you got under them things anyway? An’ them dark circles? Why you shoulda known long time ago you needed to hesh.
“You got two hands, two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. Why you reckon you got one mouth and all these other ways to see an’ hear? At! Not a word! You and all your words, you telling me you ain’t never heard of ‘rhetorical’? You ain’t gonna learn are ya? Just keep on and on. If I was you, I’d mind what I’m saying. Now, go on, baby, an’ get me a glass of ice water. You know I don’t like talkin’, not then, not now. And here you are makin’ me break my silence, makin’ me rustle leaves ’cause you don’t know when to be quiet.
“And it ain’t that I don’t love you. You know I do. It’s just that you haven’t been too good ’bout listening the first time. You let other matters concern you when they wunnit none of your business. So, now, if I figure right, you’ve forgotten how to listen. All this talkin’…makin’ my throat dry ’cause you’ve taking to yammering on and on about not nary a thing. Just all these words you spewing around…ain’t even listening to the stuff you say. You know that? You don’t even listen when you talk. Why you ’spect folks want to hear you rambling on ’bout absolutely nothing?
“Now I know you ain’t gonna put everything I say down in writing, but I figure you’ll put enough to jog your memory when you get to thinkin’ either you know everything or that you don’t know nothin’.
“You got three thangs need to be healed, like I reckon most folks do. They the same three things you came into this world with and the same three thangs you gonna leave with. They need healin’ and ain’t no ‘mount of talkin’ and carrying on gonna fix it. So, just be still and be quiet. …you only think you’ve forgotten how to do it. But that’s the one thing nobody forgets ’cause it’s the one thang the good Lord gives you outright. And I don’t care to hear your goings on about whatever theo-whatever it is you believe in. I don’t care how you pray, how you speak to God and neither does God. But I ’spect you know there’s work right now in order for you to be ready up ahead? Good. Well, then, why you still standin’ there? Go on, get me some ice water, and fill up the jug if it’s near empty.”
(January 16, 2008)
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