barb had cancelled date-night
her friend louise had come down with something
after her spa day in corbin with her mother-in-law
the whole affair ken had called bullshit on last friday
as if it was any of his business
anyway lou couldn’t cover her volunteer shift
at god’s pantry til she stopped puking
so asked barb to do her a solid
ken learned all this in the bedroom doorway
right before he’d thought to propose date-night
at home if-you-know-what-i-mean
he was already a little tumescent
but barb was already in a hair net
what the fuck ken muttered to himself
but she heard it (which makes it
not to himself)
he remembered his theory that volunteering
was for the rich that theory
always kicked in when
he had to accommodate barb’s
altruism at the expense of his selfishness
but he said okay and pecked her cheek
and went for a walk past the unrepaired
pushmower its smell of gas
the old grass turning blue white
beneath the carriage
it was late dusk he bumped into a
dandelion seed-head and got those
soft arrows all over his shirt
just then luna moth glides into view
every time silently
graceful as hell
always it seemed out of nowhere
and always happy what the fuck
ken muttered for the second time
this time inaudibly
luna moth alit on an old pampers box
the baby all faded and blue from the sun
luna moth said you look down ken
what gives
ken told her his little pocket-sized tale of woe
she laughed the laugh of the third party listener
he said i need to lose some weight
running his palms down his side belly
you’d be lighter luna said
i’m serious ken said
i’m not done yet
i know a guy who sold his company
he’d worked himself fat and bald
figuring shit out at a desk all day
then he started smoking and had some
expert in ohio weave some of his good hair
into a piece dude looks great now
luna laughed again this time with
glass in it
don’t bullshit me ken have you forgotten
i spent thirty years in marketing
this one time we were doing team building
i was supposed to fall into another sales guy’s
arms then he mine but when i went to fall
he was talking to gail from accounting
trying to get into her pants
but moths don’t have pants ken said
we aren’t all moths ken
so you fell and got hurt ken said
hell no said luna i knew better than to trust him
i had slid a wing back to catch myself
just in case
what’s the point said ken
the point is barb don’t slide a wing back for you
don’t make her start