| A CAUSTIC GENTLEMAN |
| by Lee Stern |
Gemini Magazine
_______________
Lee Stern lives in Los Angeles. He
is widely published on the Internet.
is widely published on the Internet.
There’s a caustic gentleman outside
and he says he is waiting for the Emporium to open.
Should I tell him that the Emporium has been closed for several centuries?
Or should I explain that in times like these
nothing is quite as satisfying
as delivering the lemon ice before it begins to melt?
Either way, I should mention, I’d be happy to follow your specifications.
I’d be just as happy, of course, in a lilting kind of a way
to frolic on the front lawn as soon as you give me the signal.
But—if he says the Emporium was his idea, how should I respond?
Should I move the game piece ahead two spaces?
Or over once to the left?
Or should I take the board that I have been standing on
now for the last hour (without even complaining)
to a place of sorts that will always be conquered by light?
and he says he is waiting for the Emporium to open.
Should I tell him that the Emporium has been closed for several centuries?
Or should I explain that in times like these
nothing is quite as satisfying
as delivering the lemon ice before it begins to melt?
Either way, I should mention, I’d be happy to follow your specifications.
I’d be just as happy, of course, in a lilting kind of a way
to frolic on the front lawn as soon as you give me the signal.
But—if he says the Emporium was his idea, how should I respond?
Should I move the game piece ahead two spaces?
Or over once to the left?
Or should I take the board that I have been standing on
now for the last hour (without even complaining)
to a place of sorts that will always be conquered by light?
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