The Boy And His Bat

Whatcha doin?
Hammering nails into a bat.
Why?
Because I have to go talk to someone.
Why?
Because they are very bad listeners.
Why?
Because they're used to not having to and their ears don't work.
Why?
Because that's how it's always been.
Why?
I don't know, kid.
Why?
Because if you ask questions you get your head caved in.
Why?
Because that's how it's always been.
Why?
Because a long time ago the people in power decided
we were not people.
Why?
Their god told them so.
Why?
Because it was easy to believe.
Why?
It was comfortable.
Why?
I don't know, kid.
Why?
I've never felt that way.
Why?
I stopped believing in gods.
Why?
Because Jesus doesn't save.
Why?
Because some things cannot be forgiven.
Why?
If you forgive, they are free to hurt you again.
Why?
Second chances, third chances, and on and on.
Why?
Because killing is wrong.
Why?
Do you want to die?
No.
How would you feel if I took your life away?
Bad.
And how would you feel if I took your life away,
but you didn't die.
I dunno, that sounds weird.
Doesn't it?
Yeah.
Killing is wrong, you got that.
Mhm.

How The Story Ends

Wherever he traveled
shadows grew longer and
the stars themselves dimmed.
The animals of the skies
fields and streams
grew hushed, and the winds refused to blow.
He was snared and entombed
by the iron that flowed
through his veins and
he brought with him endless night
as his father before him and his father.

Question Marks 7

Dear Dr. B,

I may be meeting some new people soon.
I am scared.
Remember how the last meetings went?
A different kind of incarceration.
If the planets align again,
I will be willing.

I cannot trust them.

It may be a phase.


Why don't you notice when I clip
the noses off of my sentences?
I don't do it on purpose.
Object subject shifts?
Out of necessity?
Fuck me, maybe.

Have you ever danced?
Have you really ever danced?

Of course.  What do you drive these days?
Can I see my file?
Yes, that is a good plant.  The chair is good too.
It kind of feels like mid-fall if I had to
pin it down.

Does that gumball machine work?
A tiny one.
Desk sized.

I can have one?

I do have a penny.

Gross.

How long have those been there?

It's good to have a sense of humor.

Sincerely, Mr. H.