Drabbles II
CERTAINTIES
The State assures Quibble there is a reason for everything. Quibble believes, but he is not sure that every reason is good. Doubt is not sanctioned, but at times is unavoidable. So long as he keeps it to himself, all is well. Not Quibble. He decides to tell Natalie, though he will catch her when she will not hunt specifics. The night of his doubt, amid the most furious lovemaking he has applied to Natalie in months, just before concluding his patriotism, he whispers doubt, feeling that tell-tale catch of Natalie’s hips, knowing it is good or it is bad.
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SOCIAL CLIMB
The scarecrow kerfuffle spills into town. Farmers tie aluminum pans to poles amid their crops to frustrate crows, maintain production. It does not work as well as purpose-built, motivated scarecrows. But the scarecrows instead are here, floundering about in the streets, losing straw or collecting lost straw to refurbish themselves, accusing each other of collusion with crows. It is impossible to take sides because it is impossible to understand their issues. Tasks for scarecrows are simple enough, and any complications are only those that they imagine. But it creates a boom market for straw. Straw mongers begin craving luxury goods.
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THIS IS A TEST
The sound again of someone being beaten. The cries and pleading, along with the glee of the attackers, is not as worrisome as the noise of blows and of a body threaded into random street appliances. It is close enough to be heard through a closed window. It is always close enough to be heard through closed windows. This is the third this week, wedged into night just before you sleep. Sleep perhaps soundly enough to cancel hearing. You do not go to the window to see if this is an official or random beating. Perhaps that is the point.
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