Book Group

There’s a character in chapter thirty-four
Who’s very invested in what happens next,
To the point, one might say, of being
Obsessed. Which is funny, in a way,
Since the character knows that the story,
Wherever it eventually goes, is going
Away, away from, without, the character,
Soon. The rest hasn’t even been written,
Not yet, but it’s already certain it won’t
Use this character as its protagonist.

So why does the character care more
About chapter thirty-five or six than four?
Offspring make a good excuse. What will
Happen to them after all? After all,
The future of the story will be theirs, too.
But, if a reader could ask the character,
Ask the character privately, directly,
Pull the character aside for one moment,
One blesséd, quiet moment without
The nosy author finding out, the character
Would confide that it’s neither denial nor
Parental concern that keeps the obsession
With what’s next in the big mess burning—

It’s habit. It’s just addiction, really. It’s
Probably also partly inherited disposition.
Remember in chapter twenty-four, how
The character’s father was going on
And on, re how amazing all the changes
In the world in his lifetime had been?
That kind of narrative setting just gets
Itself under a character’s skin.