theft
give me all your money, he says
thumb and index finger making a gun
the boy pretends to take out his wallet
opens it, passes invisible currency
they’ve performed this act
hundreds of times now
the father always the robber, the boy
or his brother always the victims
an incautious observer might see metaphor
where there is only play-acting
might suggest this imagined theft mirrors
what the father has already stolen
back on the couch the boy giggles
goes back to his YouTube videos
safe in the knowledge that the thief
is nearby, waiting to spring again
/ / /
Jason Crane
16 April 2015
State College, PA
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