My 28th encounter with the peacock

1.
The peacock peered
Into the slow-moving muddy brown river
Scooped flotsam off the surface
Dangled it before my eyes, and said:
Approximately equal to hundred years of history



2.
D
Da
Dad
Dead
Dread

Is how the peacock made a ledger entry in the sand



3.
We entered a store
Me searching for something sinister
A book with arms dealers, undercover agents and women who defied materialist logic
The peacock sat in a corner peeling off labels from prescription bottles
Leaving a trail of bar codes
On the shop floor


4.
The peacock asked me: would it be fair to say the number of doomed love affairs
Outweigh happy endings



5.
We were watching golf on TV
I would like to play that sport, the peacock said
Why, I asked
Five reasons really: "I get to wear smart casuals, you can be my caddy, the sun beating down, a bit of humidity, free rides in the golf cart."
And the ferns

Millions of rare ferns on this course



6.
That night,
The peacock wished me in his pidgin sing-song accent
He said
I prefer the debris of verbs
To the incantation of nouns

Whataboutyou?


7.
The peacock
Was perched on my dining table
I was sweeping the floor
With a broom

He observed
The dust rises, the dust falls
Is that the whole point to all of this?