Elegy for an alternate self
+ -Elegy for an alternate self
- - - -Say there are no words. Say that we are conjoined
from birth, or better still, say we are myself.
—But I still talk to myself, I build my world
through language, so if we say there are no words
this is not enough. Say we are instead some animal,
or better yet, a plant, or a flagellum motoring
aimlessly around. (Say that humans are the only things
that reason. Say that we’re the only things that worry.)
Say that I am separate. To say there’s everything else
and then there’s me is wrong. Each thing is separate:
there is no whole in the world. Say this is both good
and bad, or rather, say there is no good or bad but only
being, more and more of it always added, none taken out
though it can be forgotten. Say that forgetting
is a function of our remembering. (Say that humans only
worry about separation. Say that only humans feel it.)
Say there are no words. Say that we are conjoined
from birth, or better still, say we are myself.
—But I still talk to myself, I build my world
through language, so if we say there are no words
this is not enough. Say we are instead some animal,
or better yet, a plant, or a flagellum motoring
aimlessly around. (Say that humans are the only things
that reason. Say that we’re the only things that worry.)
Say that I am separate. To say there’s everything else
and then there’s me is wrong. Each thing is separate:
there is no whole in the world. Say this is both good
and bad, or rather, say there is no good or bad but only
being, more and more of it always added, none taken out
though it can be forgotten. Say that forgetting
is a function of our remembering. (Say that humans only
worry about separation. Say that only humans feel it.)