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BENEATH THE WAVES
She says she has always wantedto swim like a dolphin, and she laughswhen others tell her that she can,in the Florida Keys and in Hawaii. She tells them that anyone, at leastanyone with money can swimwith the dolphins, but she wantsto swim like a dolphin as well. She wants to see the sky appearthrough the…
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AN ORPHAN
I knew you’d show up in my dream,it was a matter of time and faith,or perhaps just playing the averages,sooner or later became sooner, that’s all. You had nothing to say, but that, toowas to be expected, for I have neverheard your voice, and imagine it akinto the voice of the GPS or perhaps Siri.…
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BREAKAGE
There was always breakage. You accounted for breakage. You measured breakage. You didn’t know when breakage would happen, but you knew it would. You hoped to minimize breakage, but not to totally avoid it. It couldn’t be done and there were those who relied on some level of breakage to make a living, who cleaned…
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NEEDLE
She tells me I should rest,that I need convalescent time,but I want to tell her, “why,it isn’t like they stuck a needlein my eye, so why rest?” butit actually is just that, but the restof my body is none the worsefor the wear on my face,and it hurts less when Iam doing something otherthan thinking…
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THE FINAL? TRANSCRIPTS OF ENTRIES FROM THE TAPE RECORDED JOURNALS OF YETTA GOLDSTEIN
ENTRY: March 23, 1992 Damn David, what was he thinking? I should be over at Shirley’s playing mah jongh, but no. Ma, you need some adventure in your life. Like I need hemorrhoids, I need this. Schvitzing like a fountain, I’m the queen of Mardi Gras. Who is he kidding? I’m a Jewish dishrag…
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POSSIBILITY
It is quite possibleI had seen you beforein the hallway perhaps.I hope I smiled,I assume you did.Neither of uscould have imaginedit would one daygrow into love.
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WAITING, STILL
I stood on the cornerwaiting patiently for you. It seemed like hours. It was probably minutesbut Einstein was rightabout relativity also. You never arrived,but I hadn’t expectedyou to do so, that wasthe nature of us. I will wait againin two weeks. Same corner as usual,but an hour earlier. You will not show upand will offer…
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THREE MORE TRANSCRIPTS OF ENTRIES FROM THE TAPE RECORDED JOURNALS OF YETTA GOLDSTEIN
ENTRY: March 27, 1971 So, finally he’s here. Nine months, what God, another joke? Okay, she ate the damned apple, so stick it to the snake. But what would you know, another man. For six hours I’m lying there, dying from pain before the shmendrick walks in like some king, smiles at all the cutesy…
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FIRST TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE TAPE RECORDED JOURNALS OF YETTA GOLDSTEIN
ENTRY: July 30, 1970 So, is this fakokteh box doing anything? Hello, HELLO? Buttons, now I’m a button pusher. Some kind of secretary now. Hello? Oh, hell, if it’s on it’s on and if not that’s Saul’s problem. So yesterday I tell my Saul, “You wouldn’t believe, we’re pregnant!” And Saul says, “you mean you’re…
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TAILORING
My adoptivegrandfather could take bitsof cloth, a needle, threadand with magiclygnarled fingerscreate a garmentfit for royalty, to be wornby the old womanliving in the walkup down the street. I take wordsbits of ideasand hope,and with manicured fingerscreate whatI can only hopepasses for poetryto be ignoredby thoseliving nearbyin my suburb.