By Meghan O'Rourke
By my hands I hang in the bedroom
of a man's strange mind.
The walls are lined with fleurs-de-lis
made from the fur of mice.
Smoke rises in the chimney.
Yet another plague—
in northern pastures long-nosed horses
stamp at the smell of bodies
burning behind the castle.
The rope around my fingers creaks,
moths bang against the window,
a doctor stumbles up the walk—
the corners are full of needles
to help me sleep,
mice lie like kings in their copper traps.
Keep still, he says,
the vein is hard to find
without a little pinch. See?
Supervision is so
much better than freedom.
--------
It was rainy and dark and gloomy. It was the kind of day when cats traded off among sleeping on my bed, sleeping on my sons' beds, sleeping in the fishie cat bed, and sleeping on the vents (from which they were summarily removed). In other words, except for a couple of loads of laundry and a bit of online gift shopping, I accomplished nothing today besides the morning Sudoku and picking up son from school in a timely manner so he wouldn't get rained on. Well, and watching Next Gen to review on Friday. Heh.
The Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial last month.
Honest Abe by Daniel Chester French...
...and the spot at the top of the steps from which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech.
It's hard to take an interesting photo of the Washington Monument at midday right near it.
The fountains of the World War II memorial...
...surrounded by plaques honoring each of the U.S. states and territories whose soldiers fought in the war.
Fountains surround the sides as well.
Even a month ago, there were signs on the National Mall that autumn had arrived.
Smallville was quite fun, particularly while it was doing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, though Clark is a total dope and perhaps the only person stupider than him on the entire planet is Jor-El. Spoilers: Well, and maybe Jimmy. I will admit that I howled at the beginning when Chloe had forgotten all about Lana -- me too, and wasn't it fantastic while it lasted! Though I appreciated the other nods to continuity -- Clark noting that everyone who knows his secret either goes away or dies (dad, Pete, Lana, Lionel, Lex). And then Chloe promptly forgets his secret. Like that's going to keep her safe! I enjoyed the "When Chloe Met Clark" sequence and of course I loved the Eternal Sunshine disintegrating-memory sequences, but come on, Davis is incredibly creepy, how Jimmy can fail to see his stalkerish tendencies is beyond me.
And please, Chloe should be running away fast instead of kissing back! Or if she wants a last forbidden kiss before her wedding, it should be Clark! Or Oliver! Or Lois -- oh wait, Lois is her cousin -- fine, Tess, then. The wiping of her memory is a shade too close to the erasure of Donna Noble, Traveler in Time and Space, and it's also stupid -- c'mon, Kal-El and Jor-El, you know how these things always backfire! I was actually pleased when Brainiac made the Fort of Solitude turn dark. Hey, they did an episode without Lois or Oliver (or Lex or Lionel) and I liked it anyway...that must mean the show has turned around!
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