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Linda Umans

That eternal attachments can start on a staircase. Wild boy Kintaro in the
Utamaro print hanging there at Giverny. I saw him on the lap of his adoptive mother,
fell in love and he is still my boy. Relationships off the walls.

That the little girl said to her mother, Can I ask you a joke?
Why did the baby cry? “I don’t know. Why did the baby cry?”
Because he was hungry….So ob-vi-ous!

A man with a cane was crossing the icy avenue. A snow-booted woman said,
“You shouldn’t be out on a day like this.” He yelled back, “If I had someone,
I wouldn’t be.” And she stood staring.

♦

In a world like Dali’s with swans reflecting elephants some days I reflect
an ogress, some days I reflect someone who is looking for a perfect apple
in November, a perfect beet in August.

♦

Who knew I would love bedazzlement
who knew I had a loud side
a broadside, a “nice lady” side
a West Texas side, a caretaking side
a Thanksgiving dinner side.

♦

That self-knowledge bounces off the platforms of railroads.
That I am refrigerator cool (Kintaro, you are still my love).
That a woman can be beautiful in Paris and not in Kansas City.
That a child can be better loved away from home.