Last Night, On The Eve Of Black History Month ...

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I fell asleep

listening to 

a Bill Withers' song

—Grandma's Hands—

and

 had a dream

about my paternal

grandparents

 

Just the three of us

 

They spoke with the vocabulary

of college professors

but I sounded like

a kindergarten kid

 

Present us with a hypothetical

said my grandfather

 

Related to the upbringing

of eight children

added my grandmother

 

In real life,

they had eight "children"

 

Seven of which

became my aunts and uncles

plus the eldest

of four boys

who was my father 

 

"Otay, here is da hypotetical"

said the kindergarten me:

 

"Wha if one of da eight

had a fuzzy brain

and eveybody

laff at him"

 

Both grandparents laughed

and asked me to continue

 

"Wood you ha' traded him in

for tree milly dollaz?"

 

They looked at each other

then looked at me

and answered in two voices:

 

Yes

said my grandmother

 

Without hesitation

added my grandfather

 

My grandmother concluded:

This issue has been discussed

repeatedly in the great beyond

with octet-generating

parents and unanimously

they respond

exactly as we did,

all of them 

licking their lips,

saying 

"$3 million dollars

would be like

manna from heaven" 

 

Then I awoke,

feeling very fuzzy

but loving my

grandparents

more than

I could imagine

***

 

© PAUL OLIVERIO ©

________________________________________________________________________________________________