i turned on the radio and folded my freshly-washed underwear
while watching out the window at schoolgirls walking by
the tingling and the pressure from my old workplace injury is always with me
i moved with care
clouds had been building up all afternoon
the schoolgirls walked down the street to the next block
i stacked my underwear neatly
the sound of a golden oldie came from the radio
the clouds were slowly billowing over the city
my bedsheets were still drying on the line
(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)
my father storms into the house when he gets home from work
bitching about obese paralegals
red-light runners
large cars badly parked
i’m watching television when he comes in
i try to avoid getting in front of his anger
after he takes off his tie
makes a martini and sits
he’s usually better
he sips
he says
why does my girlfriend keep calling me at seven in the morning to break up?
doesn’t she know she got it right the first time?
we watch television
i’m like
dad
i don’t know
he finishes his martini and goes outside
we forgive each other everything we can
(Copyright 2023 by Tetman Callis.)
“According to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General [pre-2005], 19 percent of the general population of the United States has a diagnosable mental illness, 6 percent have an addictive disorder, and 3 percent have both a mental illness and an addictive disorder. Most of the sufferers continue to function more-or-less well outwardly, despite the internal turmoil: only between a third and a quarter of these illnesses result in diagnosable functional impairment or are severe enough to interfere with social functioning. The others may or may not be detectable by an untrained observer, even though they can seriously compromise the sufferer’s judgment.” – Major Laura J. Heath, USA, “An Analysis of the Systemic Security Weaknesses of the U.S. Navy Fleet Broadcasting System, 1967-1974, as Exploited by CWO John Walker”