Hilton Als, “Poem for Edgar”

When I was on TV once, he said “Goddamnit!” to the television set. Only he noticed that his nephew was wearing mismatched socks. When I got too sarcastic, he’d say: “Watch your mouth.” His nephew wondered how he could. He asked his nephew where he was going every time he saw him, and his nephew never felt put upon. Care is different from being monitored. Every child knows that.

Hilton Als has a new short story up on Rookie. You will love it.