Paterson: Book II, Chapter 1, p. 45--Unrequited; or, Exiling One's Self from One's Self

Unrequited; or, Exiling One’s Self from One’s Self

This is based on a true story

(which it cannot be):

All of us—all human beings—

can see into the future.  There ain’t

no need for a palmist or sooth-

sayer or shit.  But there is not one of us—

not one!—who can see into the past, 

even though it just happened 

a fuckingnano-second ago, 

to us. 

Let me prove it to you: 

Sooner or later, the world ends

in fire, with burning seas and spew-

ing mountains all over the place. 

BUT

looooong before that, people—

all human beings--are going to 

fuck themselves to death 

with all sorts of machines, 

and sex robots, and business deals 

and pollution-laser shit. 

Meanwhile, in the forests,

plants will make seeds,

seeds will make more plants,

and the earth will rise straight up

out of the ocean, like a tumor,

or an earthworm in fresh soil. 

And all of this I know already.

And all of this I will take. 

But you hear me first,

before you leap into that future:

In the corner of this room—

This very room!—a television is telling me

America used to be famous. 

I say: My God, to who, goddammit?

KMC 4/9/13