Purgartory’s Southern Tip

On black pavement, I coughed up a pack of smokes and exhaled skywards in the lot just behind the office, watching the swiveling world teeter: three planes crossing overhead, two crows chasing a hawk, plumes reaching upwards, the last three leaves hanging off an autumn tree. There’s a funny thing with numbers, wondering if they add up to something. They do, they don’t.

I thought about the strange things I’ve seen in July: four men in business suits kicking a hackey sack outside a government building, a homeless bum sharing a two-liter bottle of cola with three compatriots, the melancholy impression of wind and rain, the last edge of a yellow moon. Some days it takes more energy to smile than frown. Other times it is the other way around. Smiling, frowning, smiling.

Then the in-between moments: when all you care for is a pillow, looking up into that unblinking eye.

Comments (8)

  1. connie wrote::

    lovely

    in spite of
    melancholy

    Saturday, December 2, 2006 at 5:50 pm #
  2. D wrote::

    Hmm…

    Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 2:18 am #
  3. Charlie Fan wrote::

    Pavement is reassuring. Previously, I had thought cold concrete was only comfortable when drunk, but that isn’t so. I also dozed off in a shopping cart this weekend and with the right bundle of jackets, it can be a most delightful experience.

    Monday, December 4, 2006 at 11:29 am #
  4. D wrote::

    After careful thought and consideration, I am using your quote about “happy things” as the epigraph for the really really really HAPPY poem that I am writing. ^_^

    (Did I mention that it’s going to be REALLY happy?)

    Monday, December 4, 2006 at 12:42 pm #
  5. Charlie Fan wrote::

    What quote? BTW, I purchased a copy of Irena’s book off your site. =)

    Monday, December 4, 2006 at 1:57 pm #
  6. D wrote::

    This one:

    “cuz happy things are BORrriiinngggggg” –C. Fan

    ^_^

    Monday, December 4, 2006 at 11:05 pm #
  7. D wrote::

    Great; should I warn her that you will soon possess a copy? ;)

    Monday, December 4, 2006 at 11:09 pm #
  8. D wrote::

    I got home recently…it’s been a long day.

    Hope your day was better.

    Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at 11:27 pm #