shrinks from encounters with the earlier one,
you know, that one. The one we don’t speak about
except occasionally between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

A long time plotting, and he’s written out
of the sequel. We gave him a pleasant death.
Maybe he’ll be back soon,

we hope not. The china is all converted,
so we can dress together. Why a meeting was
never convened until yesterday remains unexplained,

along with much else. We thought it was tears.
Sitting alone in an open boat tells you a lot
about discipline. Any wrongdoing will be overlooked or punished.