Visiting

Visiting, all is wrong. Dropped by to stand before the Hasty house, reaching in the pockets of an old jacket. Found my keys and thought of you, son--this is where you have to stay while I'm out in the rain. Greetings from the fall! Dolor-inflicted neck wound's crust getting soggy under the towel-like fabric of my jacket. To James I said, "Your company selects what it likes to see in you," meaning by "company" the characters who have agreed to sit with him for a famiy portrait. "I can explain better once the heat of the moment kicks back in." His grandfather Eugene offers more practical instructions and advice: when to start up the furnace in the basement and how much wood to add later, enough to toast up the home without overwhelming the chimney. These details work the lad on a personal level, suffering as he does an unconscious desire to burn the place. Charring the core would probably suffice for James' subliminal patricide once removed, his daddy angst displaced to the house that Gene built.