what
do you want for your birthday
the big day approaches
and the intrusive, "what do you want for your birthday," question
keeps buzzing in my ear, like a lost bee looking for its hive, oh how i wish i
could swat it dead. i want what i've
wanted for years, but because the gift givers do not conceive what i truly
want, i get something they imagine for me, an annual imposition of what they
perceive will be to my liking, or rather what i should like. "oh yes a weekend with the whole family
miles away so we all have to spend time in the packed car to get there before
we relax." this time of year i
always ask the same question, "do you people even know me at
all?" their usual response is dim
witted and followed by a laugh at my expense.
"lovely," i think and sit back and hope the day passes
quickly. the truth is i'd rather be
celebrated by strangers than my loved ones, because that connection would mean
i've actually done it, connected with the masses on some level. maybe i could invent something that would
bring me the recognition i want, my stamp on the world, my reason for being
here, you know the more valuable one, aside from raising the kids well and
caring for my family all while i diminish a bit each day, fading into
nothingness, 'the gazelle effect'. that's
it! for my birthday no matter what gift i receive i want it to have a 'stick it
sentiment' attached to the package. i
haven't thought about 'the stick it sentiment' for years, but it's something i
thought of and i'm not quite sure why i haven't insisted on the concept until
this moment. the 'stick it sentiment' is
really just a label, a shipping label before i run it through the printer and
the ink makes the blank sticker page come alive with an identity. in reality we will draw on the label, and
write messages of birthday greetings and make each a work of art. in my imagination the damn card company
produces these sentiments with the sticky backs by the masses and there they
sit next to the folded, traditional, envelope encased, boring old concept of
here is your gift and this is the formal paperwork that goes with it, so you
can respond to the giver with a note of thanks, also in card form, and because
etiquette dictates this response and this initial action, you are trapped and
the card company rules the world. I vow
to free everyone from the imperial rule of the card company. here use this oversized label and let the world
know who the gift is from, that is the kind of non-card i want stuck to my
presents.
rigor
mortis sets in
making sense of
nonsense. any minute now that kid is
going to rip of that mask of hers off and devour her parents, and i won't
flinch a bit as their flesh tears apart and that child sucks the life from them
like a tiny vampire, dangerous but comical.
when she is done with them, she may search the room for others to
destroy, if she hasn't quite had her fill.
when she gets to me, she will undoubtedly turn and flee, since i'm more
a vampire than her. full grown in size
and equipped with the sharpest of tongues as i lash at her wielding the word
no. a word, her parents do not possess
and she knows this, this is her strength.
but tiny vampires, are more comical than dangerous and their thirst is
quenched often with only a juice box.
i've had my cake and now i must go, as a small birthday gift to myself i
vow never to attend another of this demon child's birthday parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment