Monday, January 26, 2009

A Discreet Conversation



A Discreet Conversation

by Luci Tapahonso


(He was drunk and rolled his car twice
but didn't get hurt.)
Somehow, he drove his car off the road
and wrecked his car, his sister said.

General murmurs of sympathy.
No one knows how it happened,
his mother added.
Silence.

Then the old grandpa said in a loud voice:
K'ad ajoodl láa, ajoolghaiísh
akojii t'h!
(He was drinking too much, of course,
that doesn't happen to one
who has eaten too much!)
Laughter.

You better go with him
next time he gets paid!
They said to his wife.


From A Breeze Swept Through by Luci Tapahonso, West End Press.
© 1987 Luci Tapahonso

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