He pronounces the second O
Long
An unfamiliar term.
Upstairs Master Bedroom?
I'm twenty two.
I met my dad last year,
He's a chef.
He told me to quit smoking.
Shortly after, he pulls out a deceptive cigarette
from his $6 pack.
Ma'am says,
God made you come here so that I could tell you to stop smoking.
I'm not certain about God.
His voice waivers,
I have three religious tattoos, you see,
He points to the hands on his arm
Draped in a shaded rosary.
Then to his neck,
Where a roman cross lies
Crinkling when he speaks.
An then to the Corinthians prayer
on his forearm.
But God hasn't always been right about things,
he muses.
Ma'am imitates a slithering snake
A metal roller coaster with gestures of the hand.
That's how it goes, she says.
That's how it goes, he mutters.
Evolution: An Anthology