by Charles Troob
Call me Schlemiel.
I put on my Facebook profile, “in search of a white whale.” I thought I was being poetic.
M.—man or woman, I wasn’t sure—sent a message: “I think of myself as an endangered species, a world traveler. I love the sunrise in the Bay of Biscay and the sunset in the Bay of Bengal. These days, though, I find myself in New York harbor. Meet me at the aquarium.”
I got on the F train, dreaming of sun-kissed lagoons….
One look at those enormous eyes and that pale skin, and I was hooked. Sure, sure, you shouldn’t get emotionally involved with a prisoner—but hey, M. was cute!! And the size was an unexpected turn-on.
It was a crazy time, a wild ride. I’m not proud of some of the things I did to please M., but I guess I had needs and issues that I had to work through.
Now I’m with someone much more stable. She carries a torch for me that you can see for miles.
Charles Troob: An eager member since 2010 of two wonderful study groups–Lessons in The Art of Writing, and Reading and Writing Poetry–Charles is grateful for the opportunity to share some of the results.