The White Parade: I of VI I. The Patient(s):They call him The Patient.No one is really sure what his real name is, save the doctors and nurses who treat him, I guess--but really, what sort of shitty general nickname is “The Patient” in a place like this? This hospital is full of patients--most of them running out of patience for their diseases and the treatments that are supposed to help them. But somehow… It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to, or who is talking to you; say “The Patient” with the right amount of inflection and people automatically know. It doesn’t matter how they know--they just do.It isn’t th
The White Parade: II of VI II. Perfect:“Why is she here?”He’s sitting on the bench across from the elevator, waiting for me like he has been for the last week. There’s a square patch of cotton gauze taped to the inside of his left elbow, the telltale sign of the recently needled. His clothes are still the same (or perhaps, more believably, a different set) of cotton hospital pajamas in plain, standard white. He’s at the height of fashion in his clothes, at the very peak of classic American hospital chic that will never in a million years die out. If it ever does, then God help the masses without any other way of telling the difference betwe
The White Parade: III of VI III. The White Parade:A day passes. I find myself in his room again, taking more pictures. I don’t even think about it anymore; right after the last class is over, I catch the subway to the hospital, take the elevator to the fifth floor and…knock twice on door 515. He never seems to mind. He never asks why I keep coming; he just lets me in when I knock and closes the door behind us--locking it to keep the unwanted medicals out…to keep the world away. I bring the scarf this time, hidden inside a black gift bag I found in my closet the night before. When I give it to him, he seems rather…shocked. Not because it’s a sc
The White Parade: IV of VI IV. 3AM:(“Once again, I can’t stress how…terribly sorry we are about the mishap this afternoon.”“N-no…no, it’s fine. Honest. I won’t sue unless I develop a habit for the stuff.”They chuckle nervously. “Regardless… That was a careless move on our part. It could have been worse than a sedative.”“Is he always that difficult?”“You mean…is he always that hysterical?”She nods. “He’s never been…that way before. I’ve never seen him like that.”“Yes, well… Normally we wait until you leave. When you left we just assumed--
BF - Loop Lost, Adrift Amidst the Sea of TreesIn Japan, there is a forest located at the base of Mount Fuji called Aokigahara. Roughly translated, the name means sea of trees. It's a popular tourist destination for hikers and thrill seekers, and if it's beautiful woodland scenery you're looking for, you can't really do much better in Japan than this forest. However, this isn't the place for beginning hikers. The woods are very thick. It's very easy to get disoriented. People get lost all the time. And despite its beauty, Aokigahara is…A person doesn't have to go very far into the forest before the silence settles in around them. Maybe once in
BF - Coast Morning. Ean Amherst sits on the cold shore of the Puget Sound; knees drawn in, head resting on his arms resting on his knees. His hazel eyes watch the water for any sign of life--boats, fish, anything--but nothing moves out there. It's too early, maybe, though a ferry has already come and gone to Anderson Island. He tries to remember if the one carrying prisoners to McNeil Island runs on Sundays, but he hasn't been home in so long, his once-sharp memorization of ferry schedules has (to his disappointment) faded. Though, granted, his home is slightly further north than this place…We always used to come out here and fish, though, didn't
A Skaal for Cats He showed up on my doorstep a few hours ago, cheerfully in the middle of a song in his native Norwegian. When I moved aside to let him in, he waltzed his way down the hall, singing all the while. There was a bottle in his hand--one that, surprisingly looked very full. (And considering he looked stable enough on his feet to cheerfully waltz down the hall…) When he stopped his singing and dancing, I became privy to his source of joy.Akevitt.Not that he'd had any. Not yet."I'd been in talks--negotiations with a man in Oslo." He sits across from me at the dining room table now, working through a couple slices of the pizza my family ord
BF - Suicide Rome, Italy. December, 1926."Signorina Kingsley!"Don Fuciante's voice startles the women; one a guest, the other a grieving younger sister. Eleanor Kingsley shows it less as he comes down the stairs with his two remaining sons. She stiffens a little, her features somehow seeming to harden. Salvaza Fuciante seems to be the only one who notices the difference. Just a few minutes ago, the older woman had been hugging her, attempting to console her. But how do you best console someone whose brother splattered his brains all over the storeroom door of a basement club during a game of Russian roulette? And followed by his lover in the same fash
Full of My Own Air Full of my own air, I rise.Full of my own air, I soar.Full of my own air, I float Above cities And streets that wind And people who are blind To the notion that Gravity is not so much a law As merely a suggestion to the mind.Full of my own air, I surpass treetops, Birds both natural and manmade, Mountain peaks, Transcending the atmospheres and pausing only Very Briefly to pl
Speed Poetry - Meet with Me I thought for certain I would see you,Thought for certain I would meet you,In the spaceIn the placeSet aside to be with you,You didn't come;The schedule changed,And I was left alone again.I'm not surprised;I merely thought--Well...it matters not.Excuses mean I can pretendYou'll try againTo meet with me,And be with me,"Under the spreading chestnut tree."
Speed Poetry - Tether We two--We are points fixed on a mapTethered by colored yarnStolen from the Kindly Ones.Green for You & Red for MeBlind Oracles--They wind their fingers in our yarnAnd pulling, pulling, pulling,They cause our tethers to jump and bob and shake.But for no reason would I desire their fingers free,Lest it require our lines be snipped with no chance of retying.
Have Pen, Will Travel I’m fucking sick OfLooking around AndSeeing only TEXASTEXAS TEXAS TEXASEverywhere I look. I…am…sick to near death!Breathing (TEXAS) AirDrinking (TEXAS) WaterWatching the (TEXAS) SunSet behind a slender (TEXAS) Skyline.I can’t stand it. I’m suffocating. I’m going insane. I need an escape.For just-- A few-- Days…I n
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