And They Lived

I want a story to keep me company while you stare at your phone in bed.
Any story. That a man named Solon planned the whole city of Athens
while in love with his mother’s friend’s son. He broke his hand once
trying to catch a turtle which had slipped from the roof of a temple

is what I want to be told while you play scrabble against any number
of people you haven’t seen in years. Exist for forty points
links to stop for twenty-five which you drop into tranq for its q worth
at least half the house. Slang for a person or thing

that will act as a sedative. Tonight after watching three episodes
of a television show about Russian spies with perfect American accents
I ask if you like peanuts and you say you love p