Sunday, December 01, 2013

Instead of my sister's for left-overs

I choose a coffee shop on the south side of the street because I like the way the sun illuminates storefronts on the other side. This may not be the primary reason. The primary reason is I want to go somewhere public to write. This might not be the primary reason either.  Maybe the primary reason is to overhear conversation which I can insert at random locations into this narrative and so enliven it. A cup of coffee must figure in somewhere. Somehow it interlaces an image of J__ one night at the bar, though she drank hot chocolate, and I rye beer which the bar does not serve. Or does the coffee, from Ethiopia, take me back beneath an overgrown coffee tree, where coffee nuts on reed mats dry in the sun? Why does it always come down to a vision of small breasts in a mirror? (It's because this vision interjects itself into everything, even if there is no garlic, which to me is as great of a sin as having no tahini.) I use tahini in everything. See how this introduces into the reader's mind a connection between tahini and small breasts? Let's take an erotic leap—picture small breasts smeared with tahini. Note: please do not involve J__ with this connection. I do not intend it. They are not her breasts. She would be offended by this intimation. Perhaps this also offends the reader. This is not about the reader. A haze of cloud has shifted between the buildings across the street and the rays of sunlight that would illuminate the storefronts. Winter is here after all, regardless of how many people came for Thanksgiving dinner, or what size the breast was. The tip of a turkey wing, nearly all crispy skin, was the only meat I allowed myself. I love skin. Take that statement and isolate it. I love skin. See how the meaning changes entirely? Now expand this idea to encompass the whole piece of prose. That's both the trouble with, and the beauty of words. I love the flavor of unadulterated coffee. I am still attempting to ascertain the primary reason for my being here, at this coffee shop I mean. Regarding my reason for existing at all, well... As I drove down here through the early morning forests I concluded that I'm quite useless for most things, but none-the-less, here I am. I've determined I no longer need to justify my own existence, and perhaps this realization might be useful to others. The sun's come out; I'm down to the grounds. See how these statements are loaded with symbolism? I guess I'll come back the next time I'm in town.

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