If you ask, you're missing the point.

“This goes nowhere”

He shouted.

My brother waited with eager ears

For the new family secret

To be revealed by our future cousin.

“My uncle, your soon-to-be father…”

Our ‘cousin’ continued,

Drool flying from his drunken lips,

Non-drink wielding arm flailing astounded.

I stared at the wooden fence

That kept the horde of people

From tumbling down the hillside.

The open patio bar supplied plenty of lager and air

And I sucked in both.

A low centigrade chill poked holes in my lungs.

If I were happy,

Would my torso resemble a constellation machine,

Shining light through the holes to

Make stars against the

Overcast Welsh sky?

I was a sponge

Waiting to be soaked in alcohol and secrets and

Wrung out the next morning.

Our cousin’s hand shook my shoulder, possessed,

“That’s why.

So now you know, and you know,

And everyone’s in the know."

I sucked in the lager and air.