How ridiculous I was when I was a puppet!
Myself as the Holy Roman Empire.
Those who (while visiting a foreign country) have lost the end of a Q tip in their ear and have been unable to explain their problems
Something people don’t know about, though it was important. Something that was held together with odd alliances and manifold investments, seen and unseen, that didn’t necessarily belong where it was, or anywhere, but still, was.
Myself as parts that might want to strike out on their own.
But isn’t it very hard to take an interest in things
Myself as a secret foundation, invisible stone.
Myself as ancient.
Myself as trying to seem steady.
Myself as Hapsburgs: people who overthink and overfit in with each other, and people who are nervous about outsiders.
Myself as impersonating Charlemagne.
Myself as hundreds of sub units.
Myself as under review as justified
Myself as fake Roman, which was fake Greek, which was ultimate self-confidence.
Myself as not a fan of the pope, though happy to see him.
scrambling to get a place a little higher up on some slippery pyramid because we don’t know how high the water will be when the tide comes in
Myself as fought over.
Myself as unable to relax about Italy.
Myself as having been around, but unknown.
Myself as settled by reformations.
Myself as 65 ecclesiastical states.
Myself as regrouped by Luther.
Myself as some kind of way out of here.
Myself as holy.
A body fits so snugly, it’s so tight, that at times you feel like splitting the seams.
Myself as having holes, and also areas of anarchy.
Myself as coming together at times, feast days, coronations, such.
a clown’s smirk in the skull of a babboon
as imagined compass, with unsteady center leg
Then even his luggage belonged to him again
That’s what I have
Image: Pull Toy of a Cart and Driver, ca. 15th century, Indonesia.
Words: Carlo Collodi, Michael Ondaatje, George Orwell, Wikipedia, Mark Vonnegut, Bob Dylan, Simone de Beauvoir, e.e. cummings, James Baldwin
Going On 