New fantasy alert: I could become the vice president of institutional giving, wouldn’t that be nice? A new kind of life, the face of generosity associated with an association’s deep charitable pockets, the closest one can get to being a real-life Santa Claus, without exploiting elves and mass surveillance. I can see the highlight of my days clearly, showing up in front of orphans with a giant check, the great benefactor, if not the great helmsman, beloved by them, and others, well-known in the news, recognizable in the streets, waved to, and soon the recipient of cocktail charity from bartenders There may be an office, a car, a special sash to wear, or not, I’ll be out and about with handouts anyway, receiving new variations on the thumbs up, all done for an entity that is incorporated in the distance, and giving its presently poisoned image enough spit and shine until it sparkles like a tabernacle.
Ben Nardolilli is a writer living in New York City. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, The Northampton Review, Local Train Magazine, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is trying to publish his novels.