It was something he said I didnt expect
to come out of his face
Yeah Maybe people got a choice But mostly they do
what theyre pushed to do You push they stampede
Stampede
Apt
When
everything runs away you run with them
Even
if you think better of it you run
Maybe
But he was a snake of curiosity
He dropped and rolled
Eyes would be on those fleeing
and itd be hot on theyre heels Too much not to run up on the backs of the
slowest and haul them down Easy pickings Exposed Unable to defend themselves
He liked to think hed pick a corner
a narrow passageway take em on one at a time
He liked to think
Thinking puts you in the game
levels the playing field when youre forced to play
I
anticipate evil from people Theyre people
And people
They always
deliver
Sound argument
I nodded
I said Ill not disagree
Huh as
if he didnt recognise what he said
And maybe he didnt
Maybe something spoke through him
he was a vessel a loudspeaker a clarion bell pealing despite itself struck by
an unseen hand
I could accept that
Id been that
But I slipped oil onto my water
and it reflected me back up into my eyes
My ears held its echoes and I paid
attention to echoes And imitations
Even imitations held onto that
bit of truth that forged them Found them
345/1545, Sunday, 22 (52nd anniversary of President
Kennedys assassination) 11. 15
pg 283 The Water Knife Paolo Bacigalupi
pg 283 The Water Knife Paolo Bacigalupi
