“Happy Hour.”When women laugh at jokes they don’t find funny
and men tell stories only half-true, I recall how,
and men tell stories only half-true, I recall how,
at his house, my parents and their friends welcomed in the weekends.
How they’d sit by the fireplace wishing
How they’d sit by the fireplace wishing
the flame’s ribbons could tie up life’s loose ends. How they’d never
see him lead me from the room and up the stairs,
see him lead me from the room and up the stairs,
martini in hand. Olives bobbing like bloodshot eyes. After, cleanup:
a monogrammed handkerchief, the quick zip of pants, he’d
a monogrammed handkerchief, the quick zip of pants, he’d
slip a silver dollar into my pocket — Good girl.
An excerpt from Gretl Claggett’s new book Monsoon Solo: Voices Once Submerged. Learn more HERE.
Please check out and advertise Rarity from the Hollow, now on Amazon. It is supposed to be a hardback by June 30. But, if it’s not sold enough to qualify per Dog Horn Publishing in Leeds, England…. There are a lot of great reviews if one Googles the title. Half of proceeds go to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia to prevent child abuse where I live. Please………… Thank you, Robert Eggleton