The
maw that rends without tearing, the maggoty claw that serves you,
what, my baby buttercup, prunes stewed softly in their own juices or
a good slap in the face, there's no accounting for history in any
event, even such a one as this one, O, we're knee-deep in this one,
you and me, we're practically puppets, making all sorts of fingers
dance above us, what do you say, shall we give it another whirl, we
can go naked, I suppose, there's nothing to stop us and everything
points in that direction, do you think there will be much music later
and of what variety, we've that, at least, now that there's plenty of
pieces to be gathered by the wool-coated orphans and their musty
mums, they'll put us in warm wicker baskets, cover us with a cozy
blanket of snow, and carry us home, walking carefully through the
rubble and around the landmines, or visa versa, poor little laddy's
lost his daddy, pauvre
unminted lamb, you'd give him a chuck on the chin if you still had
arms, sure as I'd pitch myself into a highland fling for the sake of
the neighbors, but they say or at least said once and if we're very
quiet we might hear them again, that all of us will reune with all of
us when the time comes, our bits and pieces will cling-a-ling to our
cores like fillings rag a magnet, think how big we'll be then, we'll
spread from sea to see, sky's the limit for philomel and firmament,
and there will be Indians and buffalo and a hero's welcome, I've
always wanted a hero's welcome, it's due, said the capitulate
archduke, doubtless they'll put us in long black cars and someone's
sure to have a picnic, that's the beauty of it, someone's always sure
to have a picnic, and we'll laugh when they salt and pepper their
hard eggs and be glad to lend our long bones for rude goalposts,
what's that, that sound, nothing, you say, right again, nothing walks
heavily, nothing stomps about, the big turd, carding its beard with a
baleen comb, and lovingly licking the mirror in the eggcup, it fixes
red-hot ingots to its ears and pirouettes in a pineneedle shawl,
showing itself off to one and all, it's a braggart and a pimp, this
nothing, ups the short hairs nonetheless, doesn't it, but that's all
right, continue making your stew, sun's swallowed and we've plenty of
hours to morn, assuming there's to be another dawn, I'm keeping the
faith on that one, my friend, my comrade, my comparison, why I'd
light a candle and pray, if I weren't afraid of snipers, still, a
campfire seems safe enough, at least for cooking, no one'd be so mean
as to shoot a man before his supper, what's the sport in that, better
to let a body leisure and sup, knowing there's no time to digest, for
it's utter contempt you're after, that and the absolute beauty of
wasted sweet butter, it was important that the last bite taste
better, though saltless, we've St. Maladroit to clap for that, the
silvertongued one, he who proved birds traitors for singing what must
be sung, thoughtless, dolce,
thoughtless, still, perhaps the next one will use a beer batter, make
a nice soda bread, slather it with the whitest spread, that's good
shooting, my darling, right between hiccoughs, speaking of which,
how's your arm, you complained earlier, though quietly, you didn't
want to disturb my concentration, I was squeezing oranges into cans
and setting up camp, there's so much to do before a battle, don't you
agree, put shoes into trees and try our hair in different styles, I
thoughtfully chalked some names and addresses on our backs to
facilitate false identification of our remains, unfortunately it
makes us better targets...
Vanessa
Place from Dies: A Sentence, 2006
