a lack of deference and decorum

He had not, so the general consensus decreed,

Held up his end of the bargain;

Custom dictated that once one had received

If not full absolution, a degree of dispensation

It was incumbent on the recipient

To acknowledge of the communal munificence,

Preferably with a suitably hang-dog expression,

And then move on with one’s life

In a sufficiently distant locale.

The gentleman in question had begged to differ

And stayed on, not simply long enough

To say the odd quick goodbye, to tie up loose ends,

But for the long haul, as he was born and bred in these parts,

Man and countryside one and the same,

Inextricable from one another, in his view,

And so he carried on about his business

As would befit a full citizen of the borough,

Occasionally stopping to pass the time of day

With the small circle of family and friends

Who had not found his particular peccadillo

As grounds for a de facto shunning

(Indeed, the wheres and whyfores of his particular transgression

Long past being generally remembered or agreed upon)

Continuing to shop, work, and even attend mass at St. Marinus

(Where he invariably had a pew to himself,

In deference to his privacy it was said,

Such a notion being testament to the nature of the general piety)

Where local legend had it that the statue of Jesus had once wept,

Though one former parish priest had noted upon leaving

That the effigy was strangely and unnervingly impassive

 

 

 

Reviews

[Emily B]

I have missed your voice. Happy day to find words to read.

[Ken Simm.]

As you once said to me, 2Your whimsy is showing". I love that although you can add your own story to this it still retains your emblamatic and obvious wit, irony and trademarks.
Happy New Year old friend.