Winebox by Paul Vaughan

Librarian
Imbued with panic
Electric spirals
Blasted shots of vodka*
Frozen incentives
Ruinous apologies
Ambivalent shopping
Untrained crematorium staff
Missed limestone cavities
Indigenous coffee mugs**
Lazy milk bottles
Colourful air freshener***
We split the atom, the centre of everything, and in so doing we created chaos
Happy times

 

*Postmodern fiction as a whole could be characterized by the ironic quote marks, that much of it can be taken as tongue-in-cheek. This irony, along with black humour and the general concept of “play” (related to Derrida’s concept or the ideas advocated by Roland Barthes in The Pleasure of the Text) are among the most recognizable aspects of postmodernism.

**Following World War II, with the bombing of Japan, the cohesive centre disappeared for Americans. People began to move outward from the cities and into newly created suburbs. Women did not wish to return to the world of housekeeping after tasting the freedom of war-time employment.

***The practical magnetic fasteners allow easy access to the interior compartment.

 

and…

 

SOCIAL SERVICES CHILDREN’S ASSESSMENT

Name:
BABY

Referral:
VIA ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY; SUBJECT DROPPED ON HIS HEAD

Family Composition:
FATHER – PUNCHINELLO. UNEMPLOYED 400 YEAR OLD MAN. SEVERE PHYSICAL DEFORMITIES AND A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT.

MOTHER – JUDY.

PETS – CROCODILE AND TOBY THE DOG

Parental Capacity:
NEGLIGIBLE. FATHERS VOCABULARY LIMITED TO “THAT’S THE WAY TO DO IT”,  EXHIBITS EXTREME VIOLENT TENDENCIES. BUTTERFINGERS. MOTHER APPEARS UNAWARE THAT FATHER UNABLE TO SAFEGUARD BABY.

Environmental Factors:
THE FAMILY ARE CONFINED TO A TINY ONE-ROOMED HOUSE WITH STEEP STAIRS. CREATES MARITAL TENSION WHICH DRAWS THE ATTENTION OF ONLOOKERS. POOR DIET CONSISTING ONLY OF SAUSAGES.

Developmental needs:
BOTH PARENTS HAVE SEVERE EDUCATIONAL AND SUPPORT NEEDS.

Risk factors:
ALL PREVIOUS VISITS BY DOCTOR, THE POLICE AND SOCIAL WORKERS RESULTED IN GETTING WALLOPED OVER THE HEAD WITH A CLUB. SEVERAL DEATHS HAVE BEEN INCURRED, ALTHOUGH NONE HAVE BEEN TERMINAL. PET CROCODILE EATS ALL THEIR FOOD.

Likely outcomes:
THE DEVIL HIMSELF COULDN’T SORT THIS MESS OUT.