He loves to banter back and forth;
for the most part, it has served him well —
well…for the most part.

Sometimes, there are hints of his
mother and her brothers —
(It was said they could dish it
out but couldn’t take it.)
in those parts and places
when he feels insecure
and the banter becomes
a spar if not a battle.

Nature? Nurture? Both?

He loves to banter back and forth —
for the most part;
he loves to banter back and forth —
either as an innocent game
or to make a point,
but points
are
some-
times
pin-
prick
s
h
a
r
p
and some don’t like needles.

And so, he is now seeing
when it is fun,
when it is for a point,
when it comes out of
insecurity and defensiveness,
when it (unnecessarily and
harmfully) is pricking his
sparring partner
and he is learning to be
aware and know when
to stop —
for the “most” part.

It is in that “least” part
that he has to pay attention
and give heed when his wife
stares him in the eye and
makes a throat-cutting
gesture with her hand.