On Family Days You don’t try hard enough, she’d say. All the while, his thoughts grow increasingly grisaille. She can’t smell the fear he inhabits, a macabre work of art from which he comes and goes, the run of wind at a deserted crime scene. She forgets, like he forgets, control will arrive soon enough, and that brachiated spectacle of blame and praise will dissipate like hurricanes weaken after touching land. They’ll both be left wondering about the pieces of debris, the river’s current, and how much to fix of whatever comes undone. © Sergio A. Ortiz, Published in Right Hand Pointing Issue # 31, 2010