Table Etiquette
It’s easy to think you’re different, immune,
but with only a little genealogy, analyzing your line,
you can trace yourself back to The Devolving. The Jumpstart
preceded it—I know, too remote, it being
so uncontrolled and all—but in the case of Devolving,
names have passed down. Ask yourself, why are you
Ruellia?[1]. There are rules we adhere to without asking
why. The ancients so feared flora world-wide
that they urbanized. Super civilized. Lawmakers could keep them
safe anywhere, but maddeningly, some defied. Nine-greats
Aunt Forsythia wouldn’t take elbows off the table. Solve this one:
why couldn’t Never-Die[2] have just kept his hands in his lap
instead of demanding at table a floral armchair with padding?
1 Mexican petunia, Ruellia simplex
2 Bryophyllum pinnatum (a succulent)