from Life As A Crossword Puzzle

11. Across

The boy you always wanted to remember
fidgets over a well-rounded meal.

Father reveals true tales
from his ventriloquist years,

the beans and franks
are only a beginning

the Magnavox sprays the room
with static muteness.

In a systematically wound miniskirt
sister reeks of nicotine-free cigarettes

and rainbow scented condoms.
This is not a photo

you would want
to frame in the hallway

where guests gather to hang coats
and share small talk, unless,

of course, you wanted to discuss
the frameworks of small town America.