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somebody
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the most
profound
things are
inexpressible
war
burned all over so only his teeth are good, he sits fused to the
tank. metal holds the blast heat and the sun. his death is
fresh and the smell pleasant. he must be pulled away skin
splitting. he is a suggestion that affects people differently.
the ocean washes the dead. they are face up face down in foam.
bodies roll from swells to open in the marsh.
his neck strains and pivots. he bites in a circle around him. he
cannot raise his arms because he is packed in men. the thing that
is all of them begins to scream.
it is the war zoo. it is a landmark. pilots name it. the animal is
folded in the landscape. a bone is broken so it cannot move
away. instinct makes it watchful. it expects that someone will
touch it to restore the pact.
the shape in the blanket is stupid. a torso remains. the mother
recalls a childâ™s logical and adequate shadow. she runs her hand
over and rejects the flesh.
page 5
inflammatory essays
destroy superabundance. starve the
flesh, shave the hair, expose the bone,
clarify the mind, define the will,
restrain the senses, leave the family,
flee the church, kill the vermin,
vomit the heart, forget the dead.
limit time, forgo amusement, deny
nature, reject acquaintance,
discard objects, forget truths,
dissect myth, stop motion, block
impulse, choke sobs, swallow chatter.
scorn joy, scorn touch, scorn
tragedy, scorn liberty, scorn
constancy, scorn hope, scorn
exaltation, scorn reproduction,
scorn variety, scorn embellishment,
scorn release, scorn rest, scorn
sweetness, scorn the light. it is a
question of form and function. it is
a matter of revulsion.
donâ™t talk down to me.
donâ™t be polite to me. donâ™t
try to make me feel nice.
donâ™t relax. iâ™ll cut the
smile off your face. you
think i donâ™t know whatâ™s
going on. you think iâ™m
afraid to react. the jokeâ™s
on you. iâ™m biding my time,
looking for the spot. you
think no one can reach
you, no one can have what
you have. iâ™ve been planning
while youâ™re playing. iâ™ve
been saving while youâ™re
spending. the game is almost
over so itâ™s time you
acknowledge me. do you
want to fall not ever
knowing who took you?
page 6
shriek when the pain hits
during interrogation. reach
into the dark ages to find a
sound that is liquid horror, a
sound of the brink where man
stops and the beast and
nameless cruel forces begin.
scream when your life is
threatened. form a noise so
true that your tormentor
recognizes it as a voice that
lives in his own throat. the
true sound tells him that he
cuts his flesh when he cuts
yours, that he cannot thrive
after he tortures you. scream
that he destroys all the
kindness in you and blackens
every vision you could have
shown him.
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