Dad,
do you remember
the blinds drawn in the afternoon
my small hands
on the broad expanse of your back,
do you remember
waking from your slumber
to my soft whispers of Yitzak Rabin’s
assassination?
I
wanted to know
what the boundaries of the world are,
why the sink drips
and men die
horrible deaths
thousands of miles away.
Adam would say
some fruits
are not worth eating.
You would say
Some books
are best left
nestled between bookends,
on shelves,
unread.

David Joez Villaverde is an alumnus of the University of Michigan who currently lives in Mount Washington. His writing has been featured in the “Belle Reve Literary Journal” and the “Loyalhanna Review.” He has forthcoming works in “The Pittsburgh City Paper,” “Uppagus” and “Apocrypha and Abstractions.” His writings can occasionally be found at schadenfreudeanslip.com