“ffffffffffffff.”
Fricative
relationship between us.
“ffffffffffffff.”
Like my grades then;
fourteen’s a difficult age.
“ffffffffffffff.”
Filial defiance,
common among boys.
“ffffffffffffff.”
My utterance
became your fists,
falling
plosives,
blow
after
blow,
punch
after
punch.
“ffffffffffffff.”
Air escaping through my lips;
winded, labial consonant.
“ffffffffffffff.”
Quietly forgetting the event.
Hush, voiceless consonant.
“uh.”
Sharp glottal stop,
anticipating another plosive.
“uck.”
Involuntary utterance,
guttural cry.
Just sounds,
phonemes,
whose casual utterance
in quick succession
saw you unleash
a torrent more.
And now,
decades later,
when you utter that word,
throw it around,
willy-nilly,
you punch me in the gut.
