Goldstein–
the more he got to know me
the more he was repulsed by the idea of my
becoming his son-in-law
I knew this because Eppa told me one night
after we had finished making love
and she was lying propped on the pillows
smoking a cigarillo
ashes falling on the volcanic mounds
of her breasts
My feeling for Goldstein was mutual
but anything was better than the process of looking for work
scanning the odious want ads
filling out the interminable applications
divulging personal information
faking enthusiasm during interviews
no matter how crappy the job
No
I brushed the ashes off her breasts
and remembered climbing Mt. Etna with my Sicilian uncle
dragging him up
–he was besotted with red wine from Montepulciano
which he claimed was part of Sicily
though it was in Tuscany—
I brushed the ashes off Eppa’s breasts
and could almost smell the sulfur
of that volcano
always threatening to erupt
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