LET'S skip all the big hulking absolutes
tell me about the simple things
and I promise not to interrupt

things about the weather
the car clock's idiosyncracies
the veterinarian's schedule for the dog's inoculations

how the vacuum cleaner bag got filled with gravel
the details of a particularly funny Seinfeld show
the planning board's veto of a proposed McDonald's

who won the game the playoff the championship
what Linda had to say on the phone
the leak under the kitchen sink

Max forgetting to put out the bottles for recycling
how the cat chewed the shower mat in the bathtub
the advantages of refinancing now while the rates are down

the jerk at the office who never chips in for coffee
how the roses in the garden are the biggest this year ever
where we should go on vacation

when your mother is coming to visit
finishing the tiles in the kitchen
how your shoulder has stopped bothering you

I listen attentively as you deliver each elaboration
with the clarity of a dream and then I say
Now it's my turn

Previously published in A Limousine to Nowhere (Street Press, 1994).