The Portable Pussy
Wherever I go,
I carry a pussy with me. How, you might
ask, but I and the pussy are not one and the same being, so carry it I
must. Asleep or awake, depending on who
else is in the room, the pussy talks.
Quietly of course, so as not to attract attention or disturb the
peace. And honestly, much too honestly,
really. I am so relieved when those who
hear it pretend not to. Or perhaps they
imagine they are only hearing things. On rare occasions the pussy gets carried
away. Then it sings off key or starts
composing poetry. Of course, most don’t
suspect (or so I hope) that it’s the pussy and not I who sings, or how
difficult it is to carry a pussy everywhere I go, much less listen to the running
commentary when all I wish for is silence.
A little relief. I’ve even sought
medical advice, but the doctors insist the pussy is all in the mind. I need only stop thinking about it, and the
pussy will vanish forever. So I have
been thinking about not thinking about the pussy. But I have fears. If the pussy is in my mind, alongside my
thoughts, what if the thoughts leave first?
If I have to pick between a pussy and a brain, which will it be? After
all, who can choose between the player and his flute? The sea below and the sky above? How can I ignore the gullies for the torrents of the rain and the path of the
thunderbolt? And who am I to command the waves thus far and no farther shall you come.
--- Nin Andrews
Come to the Nin Andrews Poetry Forum at the New School (room 510 of 66 West 12 Street), October 19, at 6:30 PM.
And don't miss the gala kickoff reading for The Best American Poetry 2009 at the New School (Tishman Auditorium, ground floor of 66 West 12 Street), Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 7 PM. Among the contributors to BAP 2009 who will take part in the reading are John Ashbery, Mark Bibbins, Billy Collins, Mark Doty, Margaret Gibson, Michael Grabell, Dolores Hayden, Richard Howard, Tina Kelley, Mitch Sisskind, Craig Morgan Teicher, and Matthew Zapruder.
