early memory
first crush
girl next door
— Ginger —
locks my mom
(carrying laundry)
out of our patio
(my adoring wonderment
 at her bratty defiance
 as I gaze from without)
mom miraculously
behind her
(out the gate
 through the front door
 up the stairs)
…
righteous spankings
(meted out to her)

How absurd!
The notion someone would enjoy
pushing a boulder for eternity:
I was dismayed at first,
then railed against it;
after so many years
rolling it around in my mind,
I find it a worthy opponent.
Now I dance with glee
anticipating my coup de grâce
 indefinitely