515. DAGLESH AND HENDORAN

DAGLESH AND HENDORAN
'Down by the water, there you can lump
things together' - Daglesh said that, talking
like a stringbean, river-shavers for teeth and
the oily carp were biting. 'I'd rather bring back
nothing than something' - Hendoran tried a response,
failing miserably. Together (thought I) these two
couldn't tie string. It was always a struggle to stay put.
-
Serene like disease, wild like a badger, overdone and
to a fault : they'd each together arrived, playing games,
filtering silt, and trying to get by. Stealing boxcars
in the night. Waxing apples with a carbide cloth.
These two got everything twice, but never what
they sought. Vaudeville paid their wages, and the
silly crowd yelled out their lame support.
-
By four the next afternoon it was all over.
The entryway was down, the tent was closed.
'I had to take care of my mother's cat and bring
her some tea' - Daglesh said that, making me ill.
'See that guy in the corner? Before he was the
coroner he was a crooner' - Hendoran said that,
and I was suddenly sorry I hadn't left sooner.