I am tortured out of fear.
I am tortured out of fear.
I am tortured out of fear.
Safer in bondage here than free out there.
A supplicant, I return, bowed.
And I close our front door, revolving.
You inside, me outside, passersby, benign.
And we will never meet.
Never jettison.
“That all sounds nice, honey. Did you get the rice milk and my dry cleaning? The Jamisons are coming over for dinner tomorrow, and I want to wear that red dress. I told you they were coming, right? I'll make beef kabobs and hummus. Remember to pick up charcoal for the grill. By the by, the shower is leaking in Danny's room. Can you look at that? Your brother called again. He says he's fine but wants to borrow money—it’s obvious. He sounded off. Know what I mean? I told him you'd call him back. Oh, can you take Mandi to school tomorrow? I have the dentist at eight and the spa at 10. I hope Lupe is working; she’s much more attentive than that Jamaican girl I had last time. I mentioned it to the manager on the way out. The customer is always right. Right? Another thing—you need to pay the caterer for my parent's anniversary party. Forty years. Hard to believe. That'll be you and me before we know it. Oh, oh, oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I ran into Barb at the gym this morning. She and Brad are finished; he said he isn't attracted to her anymore. He pretty much said she was fat and that he had found someone else. Can you imagine that? She's chubby, sure, maybe a little heavy set but not fat. She has such a beautiful smile. Brad is a dick. That’s all I can say. You don't think I'm fat, do you? Speaking of fat, I threw out all the mayo and cheese and butter and yogurt. I saw this new diet on The View. Whoopi is on it. No animal products or saturated fats for 90 days. We’re allowed to eat raw vegetables grown above ground and root powder only found in the Andes. Where are the Andes exactly? I'm sure roots come from underground, but they’re allowed somehow. We’ll start Saturday. I also pitched your rocky road ice cream, obviously. Oh, one more thing. Can you move your tools out of the garage, your woodworking stuff? I'm going to start painting again, and I need some space to spread out. I probably spent too much on supplies. Whatever. I think we may need a bigger house. Make sure to talk to your boss about a raise tomorrow.
Well, anywho, how was your day, Norm?”
I am tortured out of fear.
“Oh, that’s right, you mentioned that.”