Rocking the boat,

Causing waves,

Upsetting the status quo,

Confronting authority,

Being a troublemaker,

Making mountains out of molehills –

Though I would argue I’ve never made a mountain,

Only recognized it in its infant molehill form and called it what it one day would be.

No, I’ve never liked it,

Never wanted the fight,

Never sought it out.

You who know me,

Or think you know me,

Or actually know me very well,

You who have stood on the front lines with me…

Will laugh at this,

Be surprised to hear it

Shake your heads.

She’s putting us on.

We’ve seen her

Gnaw it like a dog with a bone,

Or maybe like a Rottweiler with his jaws in the neighbour’s ankle –

Don’t let go until the tips of your teeth touch –

Or the neighbour escapes and runs away, limping,

(hiding the jimmy he’d tried to insert into your back window).

But no, I’ve never liked it.

I much prefer the quiet life,

The peaceful evenings,

The small talk across the fence…

With the neighbors, yes.

I don’t think the Rottie likes the taste of the neighbour either –

Though I would argue that the picking up of a jimmy indicates the laying down of any right to ‘neighbor’ or complaint, or sympathy. Though I might lend a band-aid, just cuz, why not? And sometimes I feel the sympathy, deserved or not. After all, we don’t want to turn into the jimmy, do we? So we’ll clean up our own mess, won’t we?

And it’s not much fun –

Though sometimes it is, yes, I must admit, but mostly not –

This trying not to

Rock the boat,

Cause waves,

Upset the status quo,

Confront authority,

Be troublemakers,

Bring mountains back down to molehills…

But sometimes you just gotta bite.

Don’t you?

Before the boat sinks?

Or the waves spill over the ones you love?

Or the mountain crushes you?

So, no,

I won’t like it,

I won’t start the fight –

Though my father taught me to finish it –

I won’t seek it out,

And I might not like the taste it leaves in my mouth,

But I will bite.

Are you hungry?

Shall we dine together?

 

dducarme 09/04/20147