STRAIGHT AND TALL

straight and tall
it was easy to see
who wore the pants
in that relationship
when his wife
and the mother of his kids
was having them pose
for a picture in the park.
“stand up straighter!”
she barked, “now, suck
in your stomach, and
stick out your chest!”
the kids shifted on their feet
too young to know pain
from a band aid on a paper cut
“okay, now smile-no! Don’t
smile that big, don’t show
your teeth. You know you have
terrible teeth!”
the man reminded me
of a well trained Labrador retriever
with a little bit more zeal.
I was sitting in a lawn chair
reading Neruda
and occasionally looking up
to glimpse the pretty girls
tanning on their towels
but after witnessing that exchange
I kept my nose in the Neruda
and once again told myself,
“not for you, dude. At least not now.”