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"Perfect Balance" Surreal Art Photography by Luisa Azevedo
Uncle Andy told us--like he called, but we were out--
He'd already shipped it, he's flying next week,
So he left a message.
Like he never does. Left the package, too.
Something for the house. Like I'd done an upshot,
Three posts and all those likes, but we didn't ask,
Not for one freaking dish. Not for this deer thing.
He stole the fake buck from a Bass Pro Shop
That closed after the pandemic? During the pandemic?
He'd been waiting for a call for an interview
Got in his car, maybe he'd had an argument
With some guy at the shop were he was just
Working Until, you know?
He ended up at Bass Pro.
They were clearancing it. Whole shop.
Everything closed back then. Or they were just shifting
To the pop-shop or they were just about to.
I don't know.
Anyway, he walked in. Used to go there with his grandparents.
Saw it already in pieces. Just stuffed it in his car.
His Dad--Uncle Grandad K, yeah? He thought it was dumb.
But then they decided to make the table. Glass and sea
Like something from YouTube.
One last father/son project?
I don't know what it was like back then.
But we opened up the box and there it was:
Some dumb buck table with all those fake plastic fish
Uncle Grandad K got at Hobby Lobby, clearanced.
Uncle Andy thought he'd taken us, once.
Corner lot, up near Houston.
Didn't we go camping in the indoor retail park?
Hunted wild boars in the suburbs?
We've never shot a goddamn thing, but I guess
We've all got to remember.
Sharing with The Sunday Muse and Poets and Storytellers United.
I do not support a violent state that requires fear and provides further fuel to hatred. I do not support a man who believes strength is based on the abasement of others. I do not believe in lies. I am not ashamed of imperfection. I do not believe that ethics and wisdom are measured financially.
-- Chrissa
Awesome! “ Didn't we go camping in the indoor retail park?
ReplyDeleteHunted wild boars in the suburbs?” - great.
Some things passed down are not worth claiming. Love the humor and message in this poetic tale Chrissa! I also love and agree with your added note. 💙
ReplyDeleteYour poetry delights ...................
ReplyDeleteGreat, hard-hitting words as always. And I totally agree with you final statement.
ReplyDeleteSometimes remembering is a major accomplishment, and sometimes it's simply too painful to do.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I imagine camping inside a retail park with those stuffed animals, trophies of some other past time (sigh), until there were no more to hunt and no place to pitch a tent. It feels futuristic to me. I guess I am off on a tangent. sorry...
ReplyDeleteSometimes the legacies we inherit are complicated. Sometimes they are straight up awful. There's something to be said about being honest about the eyesores of the past, but we're under no obligation to keep them enshrined in the present.
ReplyDeleteWell, if between his horns the buck can make an ocean with boats be seen I'm sure you all were seeing a place to camp in the store.
ReplyDeleteWe have a retired friend who started working at our local Bass Pro Shop and it escalated into a full time job plus. He might be the uncle here, his first name begins with "H*.
I have two guns and my growing up Red Ryder BB gun. One gun is a M. Ward's 22 gauge rifle that my dad used to hunt rabbits for Grandma to cook, I've never shot it. My other is an older Spanish pistol that I inherited, neither of us has shot it.
..
I enjoyed the story and can imagine the difficulties of putting the pieces together. Loved your note at the end the most.
ReplyDeleteLegacies..they encourage and damn us. Love the poem and loved your end notes. Better, we must do better
ReplyDeleteBy the time we learn of our legacies it's too late. Then we roll with the punches.
ReplyDelete" His Dad--Uncle Grandad K, yeah? He thought it was dumb.
ReplyDeleteBut then they decided to make the table. Glass and sea
Like something from YouTube.
One last father/son project?
I don't know what it was like back then."
I guffawed! What a saga, backward and forward in time. I am so happy when people no longer understand why taxidermy was a thing, or legacy, or the trash we hand down. There is in here, though, a modicum of love/nostalgia for storytelling. Charming.
I love this one from beginning to end--the tone, the voice of the speaker, all the things her choice of words and phraseology tell us about her and her time... I can almost see her expression, a mixture of bewilderment and storytelling chic.
ReplyDeleteAnd your note ripped an energized "So say I!" out of my chest.
I agree with Carrie: some things that are passed down … should be probably be buried where they'll never see the light of day, again. Family Baggage is made even more burdensome when one is forced to stare at it.
ReplyDeleteAnd once again … awesome endnotes!
Wonderful use of vernacular! And brilliant juxtaposition of this tale with current events.
ReplyDeleteyour poem here sounded like a great experience. it's the stuff of movies. thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteLoved the colloquial, conversational style of this. I felt as someone was talking to me. Had to laugh at "Didn't we go camping in the indoor retail park" Great piece
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect title for this! I can only imagine camping in an indoor retail park. I like the voice in this, Chrissa.
ReplyDelete