Dear Madam

[Reinhardt Underwood Sevôl]

1º Have you ever noticed how small
plastic items like ballpoint pens or their
caps, spatulas or salad prongs and even
remote control devices always fall to the
floor beyond your reach?
Another spectacular thing in life is like
when you buy some sort of portable
electronic device or a new item of
hardware (like a scanner/printer)
for your desktop PC and the USB
cable connectors are either far too
long or ridiculously short for your actual
daily needs.

2º I do have some time to spare on
these subjects:
Objects, emotions, tools,
human sentiments,
condiments,
wealth, luxury, voluntary poverty
and even slavery to some sort of
Conformism.

So, where would all this lead?

An exercise in categorization?

The real annoyance, buried deeper
than the root
of these seemingly trivial causes of
infuriation, is that their resolution is so
obviously simpler for the casual
passer-by that I cannot allow myself the
frivolity of affording their lazy approach
to these situations.

3º Well, of course, I do realize the
pen's cap could be left to rest in its
"Lieux", until such a time as that the day
requires the entire room be swept clean
or that even another pen with cap could
easily be taken from a ready supply
which, madam, I assure you is ample
and within hand's reach.

4º This is no wandering, no aberrant
dérive of the written manifestation of
my thought. At times, things have to be
made clean or smooth or at least that is
a regular intent on our part.This desired
smoothness escapes me. Reality is like
a razor edge or sandpaper rubbed
against one of your ankles or my chin.
I wanted to write a long letter but after a
few weeks of weighing memories there is
little left to say.

5º I was not the easiest man with whom to
share a life, I was totally indifferent to your
wants and needs. However, as I recall, I
was never selfish. Of course, that is my
subjective opinion, you may remember
things quite differently, You may have
thought I was some kind of leech.
If I were, I would not have given back
your most precious pearls and freedom.

6º All this to say that I did love you.
I failed miserably in fulfilling your
plastic dreams with you, Madam.

7º In writing all this, I do wish that you
think I am not attempting to prove that
I am right or to point out what is wrong.
I have only observed that when shaving
with the crudest of tools, one sheds blood.
In the end, madam, I do sincerely wish
that your legs remain smooth and that the
scars near your ankles have dissipated
with time.
As for me, I live with my visible scars.

[PATRICIA LANDON]

best English/French my eyes have devoured since my own writings in 2008!  more please!