clipped from writersalmanac.publicradio.orgSong and Dance
by Jonathan GreeneAt the mall
the granddaughter whines
'I need' with an insistence,
an urgent test of familial bonds.
The old man mimicking,
'You need, like a hole in the head'
—but this is all a ritual,
the back & forth ploys,
well-rehearsed melodrama
and pantomime.
She sways, one foot to another.
They both know he will give in,
despite at first the necessary protests.
The twelve-year-old has calculated
how 'love' comes in handy at such times.
This silly plastic handbag that today
means the world.
"Song and Dance" by Jonathan Greene, from Distillations and Siphonings. © Broadstone Books, 2010.
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