Robin Ray is writer from Port Townsend, WA. His works have appeared online at Red Fez, Darkest Before the Dawn, Fairy Tale Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review and elsewhere.
Oxtail Stew
Ahem.
Let me explain something to you.
What I couldn’t convey in this parasitic
English is that I’m not yours, I don’t
belong to you, and have never been yours,
and like crystallized Lladró in your
étagère, I choose to emit scattered light.
You acknowledge I’m a burden to this
complex I reside in. Maybe I’m the nylon
mesh you cannot stain or the unopened
cans of Oaxaca chili that’s supposed to
weather us through a nuclear holocaust.
I could be your path to a hidden copper
mine. You know, I can somersault through
your suburban backyard and make you
believe I’m a modern-day Marcel Marceau
rehearsing some new routine while eyeing
your valuables, but not today.
Incidentally, that pungent odor assaulting
your fragile nostrils, causing you to thrust
your windows ajar, is oxtail stew and steamed
cabbage. Remorse? Nope. Yours to enjoy.