The East Village



Jo Ann Wasserman


be rendered once more in place by hi again I am still trying to remember this story of an event in time the time was one day after you died and it is too bad because it was just getting good I mean the story, it takes a giant leap forward into meladrama around then we had taken a cab from La Guardia and arrived at the house which was really very silent I began to have an experience without understanding the surface but was suddenly engulfed, wanting to retrive your wedding ring from the coroner I thought this listening to the radio as a means of addressing myself as witness to the event we were listening to the radio playing those kind of top 40 songs that I really hated at that time those songs made me want to kill myself back then something like "little pink houses" could suddenly make me want to kill myself but instead I was thinking how I would have to come up with a good plan to get the wedding ring back from the coroner and we were silent in the cab the driver asking questions just trying to be nice like what flight had we taken or were we brother and sister and stuff like that and we said it was a red-eye flight we had taken the driver said that it was really nice, warm weather and where had we come from, adjusting the radio he must have said things like that but I was unable to witness the event beginning this silent repetition of the experience I say these are the facts because it must have happened that way in time to have us end up at the house because people just donšt magically get from an airport a good distance away to a house maybe the song or the wedding ring was living testimony to us suddenly passing innumerable times from the airport to the house but at any event we were suddenly in the house, or more precisely in the driveway and the first thing I remember for real is being taken into the arms of a priest and it is still silent but in this part I see that the day is good and warm and I see this inspite of being engufed in the embrace of the priest the radio is silent, my brother is silent or speaking very, very softly and this time I speak and I say I would like to get the wedding ring but they act as if I am silent and those little nothing questions like isn't it a nice day are almost heartbreaking I am silent not humming along or anything and not reliable enough to render true histories suddenly looking at the sky (it was a beautiful day) and the mothball smell of the priest's clothes, this time I see the sky reminding me I am part of what human life does like wearing nightgowns or being taken from an airport to a house (you missed that part) or being seduced by a voice on the radio and it pretty much went like that the work engaged with each use of the body I guess a good way to spend time I went inside and either Dean was there or came in just after me which was good because I asked him, can you get the ring for me and he heard that part, I wasn't exactly silent in the kitchen someone said, is there enough decorative icing to go around? and the clock radio on the counter still tuned to your favorite songs, it was a Sinatra-a-thon then suddenly Dean is there again and he hands me the ring and this has happened very quickly the ring was taken from your body or at least the bit that was left of it and I turn the band over and over, this time looking for blood or some evidence of burning not just the body implied passed time it is no good there is no you anywhere I am taken between the event and the ring which is silent, a monument suddenly in memorial, women were making cakes giant birthday-like cakes listening to the radio




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