We will have to wait
for the second act be-
fore anything of import
happens. The open-
ing is purely scene-
setting, inserting a
whiff of color to whet
the tongue, a round of
self-aggrandizement
to pleasure the author.
Under armored
Born
without a
larynx she
could not
call out
to say
she was
drowning
so signed
frantically &
invented
swimming.
Word marinade
He took the word
& left it overnight
in a marinade. Soy,
grated ginger, a
thin-sliced bird’s-eye
chili that he’d picked
from the garden just
that morning. Made
no difference to the
meaning, to the re-
sonations; but, oh
boy, did the kitchen
stink & produce a
steady flow of words.
The / I Ching / in the Fall
There is a
continuity
in the
natural
order. First
the leaves
fall & then
the stems
that they
were form-
erly part of.
Some temp-
oral over-
lapping. The
stems lie
in the pool,
on the path.
Yarrow stalks.
Cast &
counted. Con-
fusing hex-
agrams. Too
many answers.
Too few
questions.
You / could have / knocked me down
The ridge of up-
right hair made things
easy for. Distinctive or
prominent, given to
a number of
guests & held
in a public
manner. Gorilla war-
fear. Gratifying. But
only to those who were
affected by some terminal
payment. The remainder
reluctantly signed
their names to a petition.