Lusby Sees Some Tulips

by Darryl Price

The first thing the very first thing I thought was who doesn't know me well enough to send me of all the people in the whole wide world a bunch
of red tulips, and there was no escaping the fact of the red mind you,
like a bunch of tiny paper box kites tied up in a twisty tie of
snuggled together trees, caught as surely as minnows in a shiny tin measuring cup. At
least something over in that general vicinity was shining from a polished table top.Could've

been a gum wrapper for all I know.But that was through some still fuzzy
eyes. What brought the whole thing back to me as a sharp as hell relief
was a small little corner of torn blue sky that had got itself pushed into
the corner of the one and only window in the room like a used and
discarded tissue. I was also thinking I sure could use one of those soft reminders
about now but then I thought what for? My eyes were already cleared obviously and
my nose seemed to be working okay, although all it could smell was some awful
pungent handsoap smell, the kind that is named after a fancy fragrance found somewhere in
nature but is secretly made all out of chemicals. I couldn't really turn myself around
in bed so I couldn't begin to escape the goddamned tulips, although by now they
tended more toward tightly fisted pink roses of some sort, which was a bit of a welcomed relief I guess. I only wanted to get my hands on a nice
warm mug of chocolate milk and shove myself down into the furthest corner of my
own comfy couch at my own bit of home and watch a few minutes of
TV. Doesn't matter what's on or what's doing. I love TV. It brings me down out of the heights of fear every time I see it.I guess that means
I was afraid of the tulips. I don't really know why. I guess it's all
the socalled canned laughter they layer on the poor puns and bad jokes.On TV
I mean. The situations that can heal themselves right there in your livingroom in oh
a half an hour or so. And the crazy,fun people. I love to see
all the beautiful young people, living their lives as if we don't need to spend so much time worrying about the blazing meteorites coming at us from outer space. At
least not all the whole time we're alive. Sometimes we just want to have fun with one another. Perhaps that's what I've missed the opportunity for. Now I'm paying for
it. Is that it?And then just like that the fickle roses seemed like a
box of squared to be found tulips again and I thought,fuck,sorry lord, what
is this all about anyway? Who are these strange people I can feel here in
my room with me but cannot see? I know if something's being spelled out in

flowers or not. Believe me. Please.Do not try to brighten my sleep for me.
I have angels for that.They do a fine bang up job all on their
own. And they sound just like shaking bells when they are walking towards you. I
ought to know. I've been walking with them for several months now.