I asked you to bring me chocolate chips
You brought me a river
Really, I said
It’s healthier, you replied
Slipping into the light as I drank the cool water
I shouldn’t ask you to bring me things
I’m trying on all these people I could become
Like someone who drinks rivers and doesn’t eat chocolate chips as if they are candy
They are a kind of candy, you said
No they aren’t, I said
Ok, you said, with that knowing look
I hate your knowing looks, I said
I know, you said, and left the room
I thumbed the coffee table dinosaur book
I was petulant, reluctant to be denied
I still want chocolate chips, I said
No, you said
Why, I said
Because we are out, you said
Oh, I said, and sipped again from the river,
Pale in my hand