The Wonson Twins. c.1846. ~ Moses B. Russell
FOUR HOURS
What to do with four hours in chilly weather Follow Chuang Tzu read the night before "Let your mind wander in simplicity..."* First Dylan wants shootouts names himself several players from various teams achieves tremendous excitement with his scores Did you see that? Did you see that move? Yar it was me you scored on Dylan's turn with the iPad games finds Riley restless Want to wash the kitchen floor? You who love pushing the Wet Jet button Yah! Riley sprays half a dozen spots says he will scrub later Yah! Out of liquid Fetch another jet from upstairs Out of energy Leave them in Damon's Computer Room Riley asks for eggs wants more eats less has an urge for Butterfinger so the boys race next door with an unneeded key limited to one dollar each which Dylan gives Riley who claims Eli stole forty dollars from his bank O K take dogs along insist on walking the whole block up Tucker O you eat the chocolate first? Yah It's really good this way I got a Kit Kat Bar! Guess what my favorite candy is! Kit Kat Yah Riley asks for batting practice O K thinking it will be short lasted two hours in yesterday's warm sweatshirt weather Dylan thanked me I loved pitching buckets of tennis balls ducking as the hits fired from aluminum bats which wintered in the outdoor toy box under a yard of snow catching and batting gloves inside on October steps Riley says he doesn't really want to do that is bored Is Sata bored? Yup What can we do? Learn poker? Yahtzee is a preliminary Go ask D to print poker directions Sata to the attic looks for Yahtzee Dylan goes to call Mum says she will be home in five minutes Find Yahtzee which is a good challenge Directions for poker will take a dozen pages! No No Just ask for beginning poker Two pages You only left me one bottle The other one has fluid needs batteries O Discover that Riley who has memorized some multiplication and division of the fancy Core Mathematics tutored by Grandfather Ph.D for the two day examinations coming this week cannot add a column of numbers What about addition? What use is the elaborate math for the practical tower of numbers which will tell who wins the game? Riley calls Mum says she will be home in half an hour Riley takes the iPad Dylan plays Yahtzee Sata wins everything not knowing that the next morning Riley will score two Yahtzees earn one hundred and fifty points! Mumma does come In time for a ninety minute walk to the end of Bianchini Road so sweet with south easterly stung cheeks and a tired chihuahua *Chuang Tzu, Basic Writings, Burton Watson, trans., Columbia University Press, N Y, 1966, p.91 Melissa de Haan Cummings 8 April 2015
Melissa de Haan Cummings majored in French and English Literature at
Bryn Mawr. She has published poetry in a number of journals.
She describes her interests as including, “much small boating around Cape
Ann, love of Charles Olson, Hatha yoga practice since 1969.”
