appealing

The Maynard
Fall 2019

Lauren Camp
0:00
 
 

Untidy Ending

Between hiccups my friend says he
wouldn’t mind
dying. He languages three
days in the hard draft and hanging
splash of each stark
internal announcement, the in-
out rebuckling. He can’t
assert anything delicate while
rushed in this discharge. This friend
who claimed every waxing of Coltrane’s sax
had perfect force has this
unfortunate last
composition. Friend exhausted
by angular velocity, the constant
rift, the involuntary
spasms. He’s in a labyrinth
of broken-up breathing, the hiccups
with boots
and visible shouting. He can’t
say love to a soul in the bass
of his voice. Can’t caress
his children: only give in to grasping the crust
of grievance, from the flat
routine prank of what’s left
to the sameā€”fast again. Can we pray
for a rest from the lush? We said we wanted
calm and the calm
all of a sudden swaddles the room
which means nothing
more

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