"The going of the glade-boat/Is like water flowing."
--Wallace Stevens
Steven is watching that
damn TV, full of violence.
His mother fears he is full of violence.
So much for an idyllic childhood,
thinks his father,
who is thinking of his wife's feelings about bad TV.
Steven got into a fight,
Steven yelled at my friend in the living room.
Thus his mother, disappointed.
His father, upbeat: He's as gentle as a lamb,
and sharp as a tack. I couldn't be prouder.
Striving for perfection in both imaginations.
His mother sees blindness perfectly.
His father sees perfect sight.
The damn love issue. It needs to be talked out.
Steven's judgment: Don't hassle me. I just want
to get
a good job
and find a nice girl.
That's all.
Good--parental love is good.
Steven's mother finds his raggedy-Andy friends hard to take.
Steven's father says that they talk good sense.
"I'll have you to thank when they lead Steven into
a prison cell!" Steven's mother says.
"Oh, come on, Cindy, he's just like all the other boys,"
Steven's father says.
Steven, in later life, thought no worse of either parent.
