The Child and the Parent by Ted Kooser

The child has torn off the front of the parent.
Was it the father, the mother? No one can tell.
What's left stands bleeding, its dear face gone,
its breast and belly gone, its sex. Its throat
gapes open, the vocal chords like strands of phlegm
that tremble, trying to come up with advice,
just a friendly word or two of wise counsel.
It opens its bloody arms, wanting a hug,
but with its eyes gone, the parent can't see
that the child has already left with its booty,
with part of a parent, rolled up like a carpet.
It won't be worth much in such awful condition,
but the child thinks some fool may take it
in trade for a few gallons of gas, or a burger
with fries and a Coke, or a pair of old sneakers
with a little bounce left in the soles.



.

I just spent $6,000.00. And this is why I recommend all of you get yourself a Sugar Daddy. Hahahaha.

.

Oh! Ok.
So, thanks for that DD. Because I never thanked everyone. Yes, I did. But not here.

Oh! Ok, and also -

August 22nd - I will be doing a reading for Rattle in Santa Monica
So! I will also be re-selling HTMPLY ( my second book, click here for details, though you can't buy it yet - [link] )there. I have, so far, ordered 25 to go to printing and will put those up for sale within the next couple of days. BUT. Keep in mind that it takes sometimes two week for me to get them printed and a week or so to get receive them and then probably another week to send them all out. So if it went for sale, say, tomorrow, you will not unfortunately actually have your hands on the book for a month.

If the 25 I order sell out online, I will just order another 25 to take to Santa Monica. But if they don't sell out, I will bring whatever I have left. MEANING: these are only going to be on sale from now (or whenever I throw up the Paypal again) to August 22nd. I CANNOT put any aside for people like I did last time. So buy 'em while you can. Keep checking this journal for when they go on sale. THANKS.

Also, if you live in Cali and want to go to the Rattle reading, send me a note during the first half of August and I will give you the details of where we will all be so you can come here some fabulous poetry!





EDIT!:
I just set the Paypal buttons to work again for the book! Buy it here: [link] . Please note the different buttons for in US (and Canada) and out of the US.

Again, these are only being sold until August 22nd, because I am selling them at the Rattle reading and probably never again because I am kind of tired of this book.

If my buttons don't work, LET ME KNOW, because I suck at this shit. Love you!















.

ALSO- I can't drink for a month. This is terrible. This is frightening. I also can't have a cup of coffee. This makes me want to punch people. Or pull out their pancreases. Or say "can I hold that?" and then take your Pepsi and run down the street.

Oh and I am bleaching my hair tonight and taking a bubble bath. Milk and honey. Jezebel and Judas. Also I am cutting the mesquite tree and getting a sunburn and reading Alice Walker even though Alice Walker makes me feel wistful and feminine.




Tell me if you can come to California and see me in August