Bonus track #2: Backwards Day #3

FAMILY REUNION

The future is now? You mean now now?
I love you, but ouch. A punch in the arm,
a swift kick in the pants--I can’t say I like
your idea of catching up. My life is still a sore
subject, so how about we drop it. Will I ever
stop getting carded or start liking it? Why must
the desire for a) dessert & b) a higher power
be childish or childlike? What keeps me up
at night: the fact that aliens do exist, but they
don’t care for us as we care for them. Feign
surprise? I’m actually surprised. I’ve been
getting asked that question about 100x a day.
I don’t keep up w/ cinema; even suspended
over a canyon, I can’t suspend my disbelief.
They said “Don’t look down.” I looked down.
Cold water. Bright. Satisfying. I get freaked out
when it seems like there are too many horizons,
railroad tracks & an approaching vanishing point.
This is where our ancestors went to die. Some
view. Newsflash: status jockeys don’t ride
horses, & anyway, you’re more of an anti-
social climber. Trade you my color dreams
for your black & white? Your tendency
toward abstraction for my fear of heights.
The blood pounded in my ears. I just pounded
two beers. My tour guide said nobody loves
a tourist, not even other tourists--obviously,
I had a lot to learn, so I grounded myself.
When Mom said she’d feed my pet rock until
I got back from summer camp--was that a joke?
What did Granny mean when she said I’d be
the evil one if I had a twin? If I were a statue,
I’d look like me, w/ a heart of stone & a spooky
set of eyes. I can get mad. & even sadder.
I used to think gray hair smelled like smoke.