They who would be
young when they are old,
must be old when they are young. John Ray, 1670
Whilst part of what
we perceive comes through our senses from the object before us, another part
(and it maybe the larger part) always comes out of our own minds. William James, The Principles of
Psychology(sighcology)
he had to admit it threw him a
curve
he hadnt slept on the floor forwha five years
August after sleeping on the
floor for almost twelve years prior
Really a fullgrown man sleeping
on the floor Why Floors are hard
there were few basements in Californiahe
hazarded because of the shakers(Rays Flatuses)
they werent the housesthe floors he was accustom to in the Midwest subfloors
finished floors laid on top of floor joists
sarcasticallyReally
A
fullgrown man can sleep anywhere he wants
You think a womans gonna join you
on the floor
Havent had any complaints
he talked his Japanese
mother-in-law out of one of her authentic fullsize futons
it served his purpose the West always thinks it has the
world by the balls
his bedroom had low shelves on
three walls for his books the wallspace
above them harboured his art it was
dense with canvases and framed photographs
his girlfriend said his place
reminded her of a museuma sanctuary
she accepted the floor
they relished the floor
he promised her the advantage of
the futon was that he couldnt knock her out of bed in his passion
sometimes their passion ended up
in the narrow hallway at the bedrooms threshold
they collapsed at night
when they awoke in the morning they laughed at
where they found themselves passion
takes you and leaves you where it will they were very passionate
'the curve was the dreams he had sleeping
on this floorthis house they rented after a fire stole their museum their
sanctuary
he conceded
they bought a nice bed
Isnt this better she asked
Its different I wonder if Ill suffer altitude sickness
Youre such a screwball Admit its better
For you Its better
Youre quoting me arent you
I
am
Gotta be a tough nut
Theres something to thatIve spent
a lot of time becoming one But Im your
nut
You are Youre my nutI love you
I love you
she struggled with autoimmune
challengesbaked in the cake
he snored a less difficult challenge
he couldnt hear himself
she could
her flares made her exquisitely
sensitive and that sensitivity was heaped
atop her already exquisitely sensitive nature
she vibrated like insect antennae
he said hed sleep in the
livingroom
No Please
I dont want you to
Thank you baby However what you want and what you need are two different
things You need as much restsleep as you
can get and my snoring is keeping you awake
The answers plain an itll be for only a short time Sooner you come out of your flare the sooner
Ill be in bed with youBesides you know I like
sleeping on the flooreh
Yes I hate your logic
he took the livingroom floor
and slept and dreamt and every night he dreamt he was a boy a boy playing with
the children who lived in this house three boys and a girlbing bing bing bing
inside a year of each other the ginger girl was the youngest they played in wagons on tricycles climbed
trees ran riot in yards and as often as the little girl got tromped run over
she refused to cryshe picked herself up pushed the tears out of her eyes with the
heel of her hands a swing fashioned from a broken branch of a eucalyptus knotted
with a rope to a tree jumped ropes played marbles tops catchingtrying to catch lizards
fireflies their rural California childhood blending with his Chicago
boyhood playing in fallen Dutch Elm leaves street football jumping over leaves
burning in street gutters he woke with
the smell Spring lilac bushes Lilies of the Valley in his nosethe boys sweat
the girls soft scent
they met the ginger girl an old woman now
she lived in a house three houses
up street
when they moved in she gamely
walked over to give them a housewarming basket fresh baked bread olallieberry
jam fruit off her vines she showed them pictures of her family on the porch of the
house told them all three of her brothers died in the war broke her parents
hearts they died in the house My father built it Im sure you know from its
awkward construction Few true corners and leaving refusing their escort she
said So my dears youre living among lots and lots of fond memories
they never told her they also found
they were living with ghosts
its different though living with
ghosts youre familiar with than not
he told his girlfriendhis partner
of his dreams
I
dont know if Im happy youre having them or not
I get to share them with you
You do though I cant help but
wish they would come to me too
I think your challenges have you
at a disadvantage baby If you dont mind
hearing them Im happy to tell you
Yes Please
Tell me of all the beautiful colours and warmth Im
a bit jealous But pleaseplease continue
to tell me It seems you go to sleep and
play all night long
I do They play nicely Children just having fun
I
dont know if children play like this anymore
1211, Day-between-Two-Ts, 27 9.
17
1100,
Thursday, 28 9. 17
Cat Stevens Where Do the Children Play? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsbecB-2M2E
Caleb Carr The Alienist
