Saturday, August 12, 2017

9831. NOT FOR ME THIS DISGUISE

NOT FOR ME THIS DISGUISE
Nor the macadamia nuts either. I wear
the disguise nonetheless, so people won't
know I'm nervous, and striving, and
faking at what I do. I lose letters like
other people lose dollars : small change
at the fair, something to throw away.
-
Once I had a daughter; green hair and anklets.
Whew! It was rough; back then it was like
two different schools, or ways of being; either
Elvis, or the Beatles. Woodstock, or My Lai.
Everyone was taking sides, and no one got 
along. The newest vestige of anything visible
turned out to be the cars : automobiles, all
shapes and sizes. Things began happening
fast. Colors and carburetors. Hurst shifters,
and Carrol Shelby too.
-
When I finally came home from the hospital,
parts of me were still in a cast, and braces were
on my teeth. Not to straighten them, but to keep
my jaw shut : Have you ever tried that? Some
eight or ten weeks, couldn't open my mouth.
My jaw was wired shut, and you're going to say,
'No way, man ; how'd you eat?' Baby food, baby,
like Gerber's peas. Sucked in, hard, through a
real deep spoon. (You might like it. Try it soon).


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