The Happiness
I lack the courage to talk words
very much
because they are terribly finite
and
final and I don’t enjoy the
risk.
—Joe Brainard
Memory of a late May
tarot card reading
on a pile of rubble.
Don’t multi-task be-
cause it’s literally
impossible to multi-
task. Give each
step
your complete atten-
tion (totality).
The in-
ternal attention that I
am unable to see:
Pro-
jection. The outer
influ-
ence that I already know
(all too well): Playfulness.
In retrospect, all too well
turns out to be not nearly
well enough. So
what do I
need in order to resolve this
playfulness problem?
Well,
it says here “a ticker-tape
parade.” And “I
should ride
on the tiger of success” and
“squeeze every drop of juice
out of the happiness.” The
memory, a few lines written
on frayed and yellowing note-
book paper, ends obliquely:
first, with an “AMEN!” and,
all by itself near the bottom
of the page, “The Monster.”
