tonight we are going to talk about everything that has happened

there were several children, and they were all spoiled
in ways that made you think of milk
and when you looked at them,
you wanted to use the expression
"high time"
to the full extent allowed by law.

on the day that they drowned
the fourth goose in the fountain,
five pigeons flew in the sky.
they were canadian pigeons,
from a far away land,
and everyone knew
it was a terrible day
to go to the grocery store.

before the flood,
nobody appreciated
the motorboat that you kept in your parking space.
nobody thought to take polaroids of glaciers
when they weren’t looking.

the children bathed regularly
and, using geese as pillows
for rafts, floated idly
for days
as everyone in town gathered in the student union
for some pre-arranged purpose.

the children arrived late, dripping wet
and clutching the geese.
“tonight,” they said
“we are going to talk about everything that has happened.”