Green Beans, Unrequited

You remember a time when you were a kid, your mother was a little flustered cooking dinner, she boiled the green beans a little too long, then forgot to drain them, then let them go a little cold, so they were mushy and a little bitter and squeaked between your teeth when you ate them, but your father was giving you that look, so you just had to chew them up, squashed in with some mashed potato, then many years later, you told a girl that you loved her, and she returned a sympathetic smile, then she asked you what you were thinking about and you replied, "green beans", and she thought you were being a little bitter and having a joke at her expense, but the sensation in your mouth was exactly the same and there was no way to explain and you never saw her again, and you had to chew it up, eased down with some liquor, because your father's eyes taught you that's what you do.

Parkstreet