On Bias

[matsunosuperfan]

On Bias      with the addition of "the" the title evokes a slant

Whenever I see something good, I save it  leaves the matter in question interestingly open (compare "good" with "nice" at the end, though)
for my ex. She likes the same things I do,  many implications, for example, that the N has less use for good things.  But then, a turn
which is how we used to make it work, but
at a higher volume, which is how I knew  "volume" is kind of a double metaphor - meaning "intensity" and, again, reflecting the N's lesser
we wouldn't. I send her native people, or
whatever you should call them now,  "you should" exposes the N's judgement/disapproval of current dogma - doesn't keep up with it
discovering The Skateboard. I send her  like the Coke bottle in "The Gods Must Be Crazy"
braids of moths and children who know not  unknown reference, the kind of thing that shows up on YouTube and you think it might be real
to touch them. I send her latke recipes and
mystic surfer music. I send her lovely
cockroaches, sometimes a naughty dog.
These are by far her favorite, with their
blatant clickbait titles: Husky Steals Ice Cream  "clickbait" is the first actual reveal that these are videos
from Sister, Tiny Pug Gets Mad. In this one,  all that, nicely painted, and then the turn!
Mom and Dad present the blind boy
with a puppy and he goes to hold it
in his arms and ends up clutching air.
Mom clearly wants to help, but thinks
it's maybe not her place; Dad just kind of stares 
at something moving on the lawn. Eventually  the Dad is mysterious, even sinister.  He's trying not to cry, but brush over that
he gets it and it's all extremely sweet: the beagle 
licks his face. He says his name is Cheez-It. 
There's nothing sad about it, nothing desperate 
or relentless. I think it's a nice video. Objectively, 
it's nice.  So nothing sad, desperate, relentless is  the (ex's) criterion for "nice."  (Except for the Dad)

In mild to moderate critique, this is a roller-coaster.  The narrator involves the reader in his personal life; he lets slip that the ex is female, and implies his desire to still please her despite being unable or unwilling to feel as strongly as she does.  The story-within-the-story, the blind boy and the beagle, is a microcosm of his relationship:  objectively sad and desperate because unable to see love (the beagle) but (unlike the N's own case) it finds him anyway.  Dad?  The N watching all this and looking away.  And the blind boy with the puppy?  Maybe his ex who can't see the serious side of things, only happy endings.

It might be possible to improve a few things about this - "braids of moths" stumped AI, too, and "volume" as noted above.  The pacing could stand a little work - the descriptions of dog videos run a little long, but of course they're the setup for Cheez-It.  I have to say I missed the Dad on first reading, but now I can't get him out of my mind.  Is he necessary, or am I over-thinking him?

The title doesn't work -  probably the only thing in the poem that doesn't.  More like "Happy Endings," but more subtle?

So it works well (as I read it), the N thinking he's somewhat cynically critiquing his ex while exposing his own indifference.  Thanks for posting!

thanks duke I so appreciate the careful reading and thoughtful notes. agreed about the title, and could probably still make some parts .more streamlined.

like you I am unsure about Dad but you're convincing me he should stay