Distractions of Dagobert (1945) by Leonora Carrington
Occupy one single cell
a tiny house, magical and automated, naturally attuned to the universe
organic products, gorgeously packaged
smooth liquid walls that remind you of your first home
it was warm and dark
your mother was humming to herself in another room
humming a pop song about wet pussy
a pop song that said
*
enter my house with respect
leave my house fearing God
*
Occupy one single cell
a cathedral, hideous and cavernous, aligned with malevolent distant stars
colorful glass filtering the sun’s merciless rays through its stories
sparkling jagged edge of blue for Mary’s robes
shards of peach and red for the bleeding body of Christ
kneeling to that divine comedy until your knees hurt
bruised knees that remind you of your first fall
it was hard and fast
tiny bits of gravel embedded in your flesh, picked out one by one
you cried and your mother laughed, saying
this is nothing
*
enter my church full of anticipation
leave my church with a little card that says
*
We hope you enjoyed your visit.
Review us on TripAdvisor!
*
Sometimes it feels like no one cares at all.
So you try to remind yourself that you’re the customer and the customer is always right
You remind yourself
that was nothing
*
Yet you keep picking them out, one by one
sparkling jagged edge to your stories
Oh her? You say, tracing one finger around the perimeter of your plate
That’s over, that was nothing.
*
But you wake up in the middle of the night and remember:
You left your phone charger
plugged into the wall by the coffee maker
You remember plugging it in,
full of hope
Liquid walls shimmering pink and gold, converging around you
Liquid walls moving in sync with the sun’s impossible reach,
blazing through millions of miles of empty darkness just to touch you
the closest star
deigning to touch you
*
oh
her
That brought tears to my eyes. So sad so true so beautiful