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.

the wedding is done;
it’s on to all the fun.
the keg is poured;
the merri makers ask for more.

the bouquet is tossed;
young girls don’t count the cost
as they strive to catch
the promise of a good match.

someone said, “romance
is the devil’s dance
to pledge a troth
and grief is wrought.”

but pledge we do —
joys and sorrows to accrue.

humid runs as high
as the temperature flies.
clouds chase rain to earth.

The man takes great pride in the fact that he and his wife
own no motorized yard tool except for an electric hedge
trimmer he got from his father-in-law’s garage when the

family was divvying up stuff after his father-in-law’s
death. The trimmer makes almost no noise when plugged
in and is used only two times a year, once in the spring

and once in the summer. His neighbors, on the other hand,
love polluting the neighborhood with loud, gas-guzzling,
motorized yard tools. They have big, riding lawn mowers,

power washers and leaf blowers to name a few and they
love cranking these up and running them at dusk when
the man and his wife want to sit and watch the fish in

the pond and hear the gurgle of the water tumbling down
the waterfall and the sound of the chimes blowing in the
wind. But they can’t because of all the motors cutting

the grass, blowing leaves and grass cuttings, washing
gutters, etc. reaching a feverish pitch which must rival
the bombing of Dresden during World War Two. The man

and his wife close up the house and turn on the air
conditioner. They say nothing. The man has a voice that
carries. He is a retired minister. Such a voice is good

in the pulpit but a liability elsewhere. Sometimes one
of his motor loving neighbors hears him and calls out,
“Want to keep it down, motor mouth?”

It’s intended as a joke. The man isn’t amused.