pineapple raze this little girl marched right up to us and said hello. i said hey back. "what's you guys' names?" she asked. "i'm john," i said. "and he's john. what's yours?" "pineapple." i looked at her shirt. ananas comosus. each curl of fruit a pink heart. the name checked out. "it's penelope," her mother said. "she still has a hard time saying it." she had brown hair. a little darker than her daughter's. it was swept back in the same way. the bangs on her forehead looked like the sky's longest finger put them there. sunglasses kept my eyes from finding hers. her whole face was a sigh waiting to happen. "penelope," i said. "that's a good name." "say goodbye," her mother said. "bye, john and john." "see you, pineapple," i said. she smiled, and i watched the loop of edible cotton hearts below her sternum fade from view. 220903 what's it to you? who go blather from