Audacious by Gabrielle Prendergast

FORBIDDEN
    I saw you watching me , he says.
    I only nod.
    Are you religious?
    Catholic, I tell my coffee cup.
    He asks me what I’m not allowed to do.
    I begin to enumerate the Commandments:
    Steal, covet, bear false witness…
    He interrupts.
    What are Catholics especially not allowed to do?
    Mostly sex stuff, I say
    Then blush and blush.
    He chuckles.
    No, you know, playingwithyourself
    Hmmm.
    No birth control.
    Really? None?
    No abortion.
    Of course.
    No execution.
    How often does one have the opportunity…?
    Catholics don’t condone execution
    By anyone,
    For any reason,
    Ever.
    Oh. Homosexuality?
    Obviously not.
    What about food?
    No rules really, not anymore.
    We eat fish on Friday but it’s not compulsory.
    Alcohol? Gambling?
    Yes, please, we’re Irish.
    He chuckles again.
    He has a nice chuckle.
    What about you? I say
    What aren’t you allowed to do?
    Don’t get me started, he says.
    I stir my coffee.
    Pork, alcohol, carnivorous animals.
    What? No tiger burgers?
    No. No insects or reptiles.
    Yuck.
    No dogs.
    Who would eat a dog?
    No OWNING dogs. They are unclean.
    Really? What about cats?
    Cats are fine. To own, not to eat.
    Phew.
    No mind-altering drugs.
    That’s a pity.
    Pretty much all the same sex stuff.
    I thought as much.
    But contraception is okay in marriage I think.
    Oh? That’s much more sensible.
    No usury .
    What’s that?
    No idea. Something to do with lending money.
    I never have any so it wouldn’t matter.
    No drawing pictures of people or animals.
    What! Why?
    It’s like trying to create life.
    Like playing God?
    He shrugs.
    Is that why you drew the mandala?
    Why did YOU draw one?
    I remind him primly that I explained it in class.
    He looks like he doesn’t believe me.
    Anything else? I say.
    No gambling.
    His eyes fall, black lashes like prison bars
    That’s why my sister was yelling, he says.
    She found a lottery ticket I bought.
    All I hear at first is “sister.”
    Eventually I can speak again.
    Did you win?
    No.
    Why did you buy the ticket if it’s forbidden?
    He looks up through the prison bars.
    I need money. I want to buy a dog, he says
    And chuckles.

SNOWFLAKES
    Falling so softly,
    like thieves in the frozen night.
    They steal the city.

FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE: PART ONE
    Dad drives us to school
    Because somewhere in the mental chaos
    Of unemployment
    Mom forgot all about snow boots.
    The Range Rover plows through drifts
    Like desert sand
    Like jungle scrub
    Like rugged mountain streams
    Just like in the ads.
    But they never use snow in the ads
    It’s far too suburban.
    Dad gives random academic advice
    Kind of a demented morning pep talk
    To Kayli:
    Just think of fractions like half-price sales.
    Mention the Bolsheviks. That makes them crazy.
    No, it’s kingdom, then phylum, THEN class…
    Because Bilbo is an atypical hero who doesn’t want…
    She escapes into the snow
    A Siberian refugee
    Into the arms of St. Mary.
    While we plow on to the public school
    He’s more subdued.
    Any classes you like?
    Art.
    Any teachers ?
    Ms. Sagal.
    Any teachers you don’t like?
    Librarian’s a total despot.
    Is there such a thing as a partial despot?
    I snort, with what I hope is derision.
    The unasked question, which remains unasked—
    Any friends, Raphaelle?
    â€”is also left unanswered.

WATERCOLORS
    Halfway through art I sneak a glance
    Samir is looking back at me.
    Without speaking he lifts up his page
    And shows me a watercolor coffee cup
    Overflowing with whip
    And chocolate
    I say nothing
    I just lift up my page
    And show him
    A watercolor dog.

RENT-A-GEEK
    Puffy and Freckle have an entourage
    frnds 4evr
    Each member has a role.
    The homework helper:
    A plain girl in expensive clothes.
    The project:
    A pretty girl in shabby clothes
    I want to throw a hardback copy of Emma at her head.
    The drug supplier:
    A sk8r dude
    Pretty sure he’s got nothing stronger than pot
    Maybe coke.
    The