I am at a lawn party.
I arrived late
There are flies at the food table.
I see a friend I haven't seen for a while
Up in the backyard
By the white fence.
I run up to where they are talking,
Three young women and my friend
Who is seated.
They don't turn immediately
Which is fine,
I am just glad to have found my friend.
Then his girlfriend greets me enthusiastically
And says "I just love your plastic finger."
She is holding it upright.
I don't know how she got it
Or, more to the point,
Why she thinks it is mine.
If it is mine you would think I would remember.
I realize that I have been rubbing
My friend's back the whole time.
Now the other two women are paying attention.
We are all looking at the plastic finger
That my friend's girlfriend is holding up.
It is clear and pliant and it has a ring
And a (as if) manicured fingernail.
It is really an elegant finger.
One of the young women asks
What do you use it for?
What should I say?
Should I be honest and say
I don't remember having a plastic finger in my life?
Or should I lie to stay in the conversation?
Should I say that I use it
When I want to make a point?
Or that it honors my feminine side?
You know how sometimes you will do anything
For the attention of attractive people?
So I said, "That finger has made a huge difference in my life."
But even as I am hearing my lie
I am aware that the conversation has shifted
Away from the finger
Away from me.
