Poem for Tuesday, County Fair, County Schools

Intimacy
By Paisley Rekdal

How horrible it is, how horrible
that Cronenberg film where Goldblum's trapped

with a fly inside his Material
Transformer: bits of the man emerging

gooey, many-eyed; bits of the fly
worrying that his agent's screwed him–

I almost flinch to see the body later
that's left its fly in the corner, I mean

the fly that's left its body, recalling too
that medieval nightmare, Resurrection,

in which each soul must scurry
to rejoin the plush interiors of its flesh,

pushing through, marrying indiscriminately
because Heaven won't take what's only half:

one soul blurring forever
into another body.

If we can't know the boundaries between ourselves
in life, what will they be in death,

corrupted steadily by maggot,
rain or superstition, by affection

that depends on memory to survive?
People should keep their hands to themselves

for the remainder of the flight: who needs
some stranger's waistline, joint

problems or insecurities? Darling,
what I love in you I pray will always stay

the hell away from me.

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It was the first day of school for Adam (Daniel doesn't actually start classes till Wednesday). I was awoken early not only by son but by Cinnamon, who was distressed at all the furniture rearranging and people disappearing, so I am unfocused, and an overseas friend lost her mother, who was in her 90s and not well but still strong in memory and opinion and who had seen most of the last century, so I am sad. I don't have a lot to report for myself besides seeing my mom, local animals and boring chores.

Adam got home late after cross country, reasonably happy with his classes though annoyed by the county-required Foundations of Technology class which is reported to be horribly dull, and concerned about how much work Chinese will be this year (he's also taking AP World History and AP photo/studio art classes which are of course his favorites). He brought us lots of paperwork to sign. We watched this week's Warehouse 13, not my favorite story though I love the guest star. Here are a few more county fair animal photos; people in the Gulf, stay safe!