2,599 Readings

RED WINGS COLLAPSING

              
What do you call a field of black telephones ringing?

A problem? Sometimes I make ridiculous gestures

with my arms and legs, and call it dancing. So you see

it is not the color of your hats that has guided me here.

If I give you a red bird it means more than if I give

you a story about a blue hat. When I am not a nuance

expressed in echoes,  I am quite modest and quite murky.

Once in modest and murky water, I had a very disturbing

conversation with a boat. This boat said, I don’t want to know

that much about every goddamn whale. This boat blew me away,

as the unexpected often does. I want to know more about normal

accidents, owls misplaced in the arctic, breathing in code, 

dead fish on the sidewalk, extinction in the meadow, red wings

collapsing. I don’t want to know what to call a field of black

telephones ringing. Have you ever built a giant mess with tiny tools?

You are not alone when you make ridiculous gestures

with your arms and legs, and call it dancing. We all are.

Posted 12/01/09
Books by Emily Pettit
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