she said...

"dummy-up," she said

the first time i ever heard that term
i was young
maybe in the car
spoken by my mother

"what does that mean?"

"make like a dummy," she replied

i remember thinking of edgar bergen
and his friend
Charlie McCarthy

she want's me to stop talking

not so long ago this very same
"dummy-up" hopped out of my mouth

i was standing at the kitchen sink
my back to the target
directed at my adored brother
it just hopped

funny thing is...he knew exactly what i meant
and where i had heard it

i can never be sure
when my mother will show up



...