September 2024
Audell Shelburne
d.a.shelburne@gmail.com
d.a.shelburne@gmail.com
Bio Note: I recently received a promotion to the position of Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK, which I fear will seriously interfere with my dabbling in poetry. I am still trying to write as much as possible and submitted a full-length manuscript for consideration last month. I keep my fingers crossed (which makes it even harder to type poetry).
Looking for a Second Opinion
He said everything was just fine or so he hoped, just waiting for his time. He doubted any divine design. The tech said the dye would help define the lesions on the liver the size of dimes. He said everything was just fine. The tech confides, not cirrhosis, not too much wine, now breathe in and hold still when you hear the chime. He still doubts any grand divine design. The dye settled in his pelvis while the CT outlined cysts, discs, some strange shape of hope. Past his prime, he still contends everything is just fine. He walks out and feels like he hit a landmine. In pieces, he calls his wife and chokes, I’m… I’m… Still he doubted any grand design. They gaze at the calendar, ponder the timeline, pretend to hope and make the most of time. They agreed everything was just fine— Deep down, he doubted any divine design.
Mansplaining 101
My wife says I mansplain with the best of them. Of course, I feel compelled to point out she’s wrong for at least three reasons, not the least of which is that mansplainers can’t be the best, so clearly she means the worst of them, although I suppose “them” needs a pronoun reference, too, because she might intend the group to be all men since feminists clearly despise all men, or she might mean only mansplainers, in which case I refer her back to point one which is they are the worst. Then there’s the question about mansplaining per se because any intelligent definition requires some acknowledgement of the patronizing way some folks tend to talk down, in this case men specifically in their misogynistic way, overlooking, dismissing, or generally simply disregarding the basic humanity of women, and, of course, we can’t forget the basic premise the explanation is unnecessary given that the recipient of the information already knows the information rendering the said explanation moot. Ergo, I cannot conceivably be a mansplainer no matter how many times she repeats the claim to the pastor, the marriage counselor, or lawyers.
©2024 Audell Shelburne
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