from The Fatalist: Come October, it's the lake not the border

BY

LYN HEJINIAN

Come October, its the lake not the border

that has been redrawn. Thinking
about the event afterwards, I realize how remarkably well-prepared
the girls are. There dont seem to be any slouches
among them. Please tell them I say hello and that well need 14
for the green salad and 14 for the apple tarts between
with some rapid washing in clear water I remember as play
and planning in childhood, preparing until the very last moment
for a gripping narrative that was itself perpetually given over
to improvisations and asymmetrical collaborations that could run
for days. That makes another 14. It was the word or the world in 1981
when we undertook to talk about the phrase
once in a while once in a while
noting the vagueness then named a while and how once the phrase
recurs and therefore means more than once
the while is defined. We too are in a while
and when once next occurs, if the basic design suits
you, we will need a bit of modestly biographical contextualization
for November. Im going to put some thought to something
implausibly contemporary which perhaps isnt wise
since between then and now no new coincidences have been noted
just one large color photograph of bespangled cowgirls
herding heavy bulls up the avenue that opens this week carefully
wearing baby blue boots to take out the garbage
but it never rained. At the end of the month, Halloween should be clear.
Lyn Hejinian, Come October, it's the lake not the border ... from The Fatalist.
Copyright 2003 by Lyn Hejinian. Reprinted with the permission of Omnidawn
Publishing, www.omnidawn.com.
Source: The Fatalist (Omnidawn Publishing, 2003)