You, said the wife to the husband, are taking me for granted. What, answered the husband, would you prefer to be taken for? In the husband’s pocket were a wine opener, a business card, and a piece of lint. I should like very much to be taken, replied the wife, after combing through the lemons, for an impertinence. The husband looked at the wife. The husband took off his sunglasses to better see her pupils. No, no, said the wife. Now you are taking me for an aperture, and that is what got us into this dark place to begin with. To illustrate, she listed all the times that she, as an aperture, had had to illustrate. I did not realize, answered the husband, that an aperture was so dutiful. The husband walked twenty paces and sat down. He began carefully to persuade some waves into a harbor. Then he directed them to lap. Here, said the husband hopefully, is an incipient setting for an impertinence.
Beeper Peddle is a writer and healer living on the East Coast. She lives with her partner and their beloved soul puppy. Beeper writes about sorrows, lies, and deep loves. When you read her work, you will dip down into her heart and end up in all manner of body parts. Should you find yourself reflected in these words, it is merely coincidence; however, it does not surprise her you share the same heart. Find her at bethpeddle.com and @beeperpeddle on Twitter and Instagram
Marcela Sulak is the author of the lyric memoir Mouth Full of Seeds. Her fourth poetry collection, City of Sky Papers, appears in May from Black Lawrence Press. She’s co-edited the Rose-Metal Press title Family Resemblance: An Anthology and Exploration of 8 Hybrid Literary Genres. Her four book-length poetry translations were nominated for the 2017 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, and awarded a 2019 NEA fellowship. Sulak is Associate Professor at Bar-Ilan University.
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