he was reading of Christian
relics
in particular the Mandylion the first ikon of the Eastern Orthodox
Church
an image of Christs face an Acheiropoieta: made without hand
said to be received by King
Abgar of Edessa
it is believed Christ sent a reply
to Abgarus declining the Kings
invitation to visit
rather when he finished his earthly labor he would
send an apostle to him
Thaddeus the first a disciple of John the Forerunner John the Baptist one of Christs seventy apostles was who came to the King
the words of Jesus cured Abgarus
of leprosy
recently it was written that scientific tests run on
the Mandylion revealed ancient pollen found among its weave was of Palestinian
descent
from this deep subterfuge he was altered by an old woman
who entered the radiologists antechamber he was seated in
a fragile woman who wore a startled expression upset by a black womans Fats Waller ringtone
her skin was translucent paperthin liverspotted
her neck was furrowed by a
coquettish manner reminiscent of a peevish hen denied
grain and sustenance by other
mawkish hens who were denigrated in their turn by older ones
perched on her beak she wore large
blood-hued rimmed glasses
below it her mouth ruminated emitting more halting sounds than words
unless she held forth on medicine
jabbering under her breath at
her caretaker
“This goddamn prying and prying
Havent I filled out enough
forms in my life ad nausem
What more could they possibly
want or need to know than what Ive already posited
What were they doing running
cross-references indexing trying to expose me in some kind of lie
The only lies revealed about me
were the lies told of me Im no liar
Im feeling like Im signing away
everything I have
And I havent much
And what I have left
Id rather die than part with”
her caretaker was ingenious
she backed her off and backed
her off the perilous ledge the old woman stood on leering over
the old woman then began blinking
rapidly blinking her eyes
tears filling them
tears of anger and rage of memories forlorn nearing forgotten or Violated
"I was just a little girl
just a little country girl innocent
given over to a man who took me to the city promising me beautiful things a better life
I didnt know any better
my parents knew him
knew him to be an okay-Joe
he always had cash money in his
pant pockets
dressed real well always the Style in magazines
a quick pleasant smile
a broad hand across my fathers
back as he slapped him and called him pal
telling him he was awright
too
he just didnt catch the breaks
that he had
he told my Paw ‘You had to be
in the right place at the right time buddy And the city was where you had to be
The city gave you the breaks HAR hell the farm just breaks you'"
“Hes alright darling” my father
said “Hell take good care of you or hell have to answer me”
“He took me to Chicago not
Saint Louis And he had his way with me
when he was drunk and filthy Filthy
Then he left me
He said there
were lots of heifers and fillies to fuck that would flock to his fists full of green money cash
money
Lots of Daddys backs to pound and appease
Fucking hicks That was exactly what they were and where he was going
Fucking He told me to my face FUCKING How do you say that to a woman
How do you punch her and turn
her inside out with lies when . . . when . . shes filled with nothing but trust . . with
. with nothing but caring . . . nothing but what she learned growing up"
her glasses magnified the violation
in her eyes a ferocious antagonism magnified
her helpless fury
the technician called his name
he acknowledged her closed his book rose from his chair and walked across the room to her
at the doorway leaving
the old woman and her confidante at his back
“Good morning” he said
“Good morning” she said
entering the staging chamber he
thought whatever procedure they were going to perform on the old woman was doomed to fail
those things inside her
were leadshielded
she was still alive because she
had been dead for so long
0933, Tuesday,
3 9. 13
