some people are stupid

by Jeff Shepard

"aunt mary"
wasn't my real aunt mary
she was someone i was forced to live with
when i was a young boy

aunt mary
was a mean lady
with colorless eyes
and
she was fat

aunt mary
was always calling me stupid

once she sent me out to the garden
for two heads of lettuce
i came back with two heads of cabbage

i didn't know much about vegetables


"dad"
wasn't my real dad
he was aunt mary's husband
he was someone i was forced to live with...

dad
was a kind man
with blue eyes
and
he wasn't stupid

sometimes after work
dad would stop and get ice cream for us kids

and when i did something wrong
aunt mary would tell dad
to use the hair brush on me

but dad would always fake it
he would never hit me hard

aunt mary
was the stupid-ass one