“This Is What I’m Dealing With (or, The Drawbacks of Being Reasonable)” by Colette Parris

This Is What I’m Dealing With (or, The Drawbacks of Being Reasonable)

The fact that the state of

everything

isn’t keeping you up at night

is keeping me up at night

and

there are not enough

verys in the multiverse to convey

how very much I wish

that I was still ignorant

with respect to your ignorance

also

while I contemplate the possibility

that all that has come to pass

may very well cause me to

drown, pulled under

by a red tidal wave

of embarrassment,

I realize that you do not have

the good sense to be embarrassed,

and are instead splashing playfully

in hazardous waters

but

I know there is no point in telling you

that the light in the lighthouse

went out long ago

and that you are about to be

dashed

against the rocks; you will simply

smile at me indulgently and say

that’s a hoax

speaking of

hoaxes I keep waiting for someone

to say that I’m on a hidden camera show

thereby causing me to collapse on the floor

in a fit of piercing hysteria-tinged

giggles that

cede to guttural sobs

of immeasurable relief

and I say you got me,

you really got me

however

I know deep down

(also shallow down)

that that’s not going to happen

I am currently practicing my

“ehs”

and learning to love

poutine.

Colette Parris is a Caribbean-American graduate of Harvard College (where she received a bachelor’s degree in English) and Harvard Law School. Her flash fiction can be found/is forthcoming in Lunch Ticket and Burningword Literary Journal. This is her first published poem. She lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and daughter.

Twitter: @colettepjd