I overheard a man talking on
the phone to what I can assume
was a bank teller or a pharmacy.
A live person
and a boring phone call.
He needed to spell his name out loud
and when he got to the letter “K”
he said, “K as in Kangaroo”
skipping quick words
like “kite”.
What a fun word.
This man is not much older
than me but seemed like
the age that you outgrow fun.
But I can appreciate people who
understand how sacred daily
doses of fun are — a
teaspoon of creamer in
otherwise always-black coffee.
This man probably picks a blue pen
Out of the communal cup of pens
at his workplace — even though
they all write in black ink — because
blue is his favorite color.
I doubt he had much more to say
about kangaroos than most children — who
only know the pouch , a famous
trait of this marsupial.
Though I can’t help but think
this man has a history with kangaroos —
the person who I shake my fist at for responding to an online job listing I came across for Full-Time Apprentice Animal Keeper
at the nearby zoo — which I noticed had disappeared a week later.
If this is the case, this man has bypassed internships and has a notable 2 + years of close-contact animal handling experience.
This man has skills in but not limited to cleaning, feeding, watering, securing, grooming, observing, training, and record-keeping.
Within this phone call he has hinted that he has maintained exhibits — a smirk in his afternoon errand — manipulating
heavy food items, hoses,
bales of hay, while also
participating in required
lectures, seminars, workshops,
and educational programs. His
resume would mention he
is no stranger to heavy lifting
and has an impressive
knowledge of specie-specific
nutrition plans — which makes
sense given we were both
in a gym locker room during
the time of this phone call.
A beautiful space to share at 2 PM —
knowing this slightly taller,
nearsighted man has additional
duties assigned later in our day.
Captures, restraints, transports,
and gentle tasks —
assisting with medication,
night feedings,
and births.
He has worked weekends,
holidays, special events,
and knows that at eight months
the Joey’s legs are strong
and independent enough
to live outside of the pouch
and walk on their own.
And me — with
my slightly-less impressive
resume to compare —
truly believe there
are other words
that would come
up first for
the letter “K” .
