Tuesday, November 29, 2022

a true massage story

i remember
coming home from work early
one day
and finding my second ex wife,
who never had a job,
on a massage table
in the middle
of the living room.
a man named
Carlos was rubbing her legs
with avocado oil.
candles were lit,
and there was Spanish
guitar music playing.
beside the door
were stacks of boxes.
boxes full of all my books
that i'd read
over the last twenty years
of my life.
hey, i said.
what's up with my books
in all these boxes.
she tilted her head
up from the massage table
and looked at me
in a dreamy half
eyed state.
oh, she said, you're home early.
i'm giving those books
away.
you read them already and i
need room on the shelves
for knickknacks. i'm collecting
figurines now.
i think the poor should have
an opportunity
to read those books.
have you ever heard of a library,
i said.
you're disturbing my massage
she said angrily,
then told Carlos to work on
her neck muscles.
she was feeling stress there.

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