It’s obvious. I don’t
know why nobody sees it, except people don’t want to see what’s right in front
of us, we’re too caught up in the world, too, you know, needy, and if we stop
needing things who will we be, then, just ourselves, with no needs, and that’s
too terrifying, too raw, so instead we feed our needs, keep them going, so we
keep ourselves busy that way.
No, it’s true. We
don’t need to eat.
It’s just food so why do we want it so bad, like now, I can
see the want in your eyes, it’s unhealthy, but stop, listen, you’re not
listening. Of course you’re hungry, but
you need to hear this, stop looking at the crackers. It’s like the pomegranate, you know,
Persephone’s pomegranate seeds, and the more of it you eat, the deeper stuck
you are into this world, and.
Yes, you like this world, you would say that, because you’re not seeing an alternative, that you could get above it.
No, listen. All you
really need is smells and sounds and ideas.
Like you can go down to that place on the corner, what’s that place
called where people go on dates over there,
I went in there last night. I
did, I went there and sat and I didn’t eat, I just felt and listened and
smelled, and you can make flavors with your mind, you know, they’re just
something in your mind anyway, so if you don’t eat it, it’s just the same thing
but without the poison, and.
Yes, I went in there and sat, of course, I just told you
that. I just sat and felt the food, you
know, enjoyed it with my mind, that’s how all the mystics did it, the immortals,
all the holy foremothers and forefathers before us, the elders.
Yes, that’s right, you know what happened, don’t you,
because they are scared of the knowledge I have, because it would ruin them
wouldn’t it, of course, because they are selling the food, and if we stopped
needing it, well then they couldn’t control us any longer, could they, and so.
Yes, that’s right, they asked me to leave. Because they have forgotten their origins,
because they have forgotten who they were supposed to be.
Who is this narrator? I'm intrigued. Is he/she a messiah? A pariah? Reading this piece reminds me of a reality show - a good one - one that I can't bear to not read but pains me (a bit) to read because the narrator is simultaneously nuts and spewing gospel. I wanna eat but not eat, read but not read, believe him/her but not really...
ReplyDeleteLove this: "Of course you’re hungry, but you need to hear this, stop looking at the crackers. It’s like the pomegranate, you know, Persephone’s pomegranate seeds, and the more of it you eat, the deeper stuck you are into this world, "
Really cracked me up.
Loved the last line too: "Because they have forgotten their origins, because they have forgotten who they were supposed to be."
This person is messed up. It's philosophical and non-sensical all at once -- interesting, but also curious and challenging at times being stuck in this person's head.
ReplyDeleteTrying to think of what logical fallacy is most at work in this piece...just gonna say Non Sequitur? The stream-of-consciousness is fun to follow and feels accurate in describing her reasoning (I'm assuming this is Yael since we see her absorbing nutrients from the air in a past piece). I like how the narrator is applying the reasoning about needs and how they control us (how true) to things it doesn't work with. Like eating. It's like we're past the point of no return.
ReplyDeleteLove this line: "Yes, you like this world, you would say that, because you’re not seeing an alternative, that you could get above it." The absence of the other person in the conversation works because we're still getting the gist of that person's additions (assuming this other person is her sister) in statements like "Yes, you would like that" and "Yes, that’s right, you know what happened, don’t you." I'm wondering about the "and" at the ends of a few paragraphs and whether it's necessary. The Non Sequitur-ness is already plenty clear in the narration.
Sorry for the long-windedness. Can you tell I have papers to grade? : )