~REBECCA FOUST~

ELOCUTION LESSON

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The Swede on my left leaned in
to discuss my “asparagus” son,
worried, it seemed, that his own
son might be part green

vegetable, too. Well, it was really
the wife who worried. Yes, “asparagus”
and “Aspergers” do sound oddly
the same, but for a few willy-nilly

inflections. After my talk with them,
the PTA parents, one mom raised
a baffled hand:  why criticize
a kid for being “artistic?” That time 

one letter engineered the difference;
one gene in a near-infinite sequence.

© by Rebecca Foust