And?

It was the best day of my week: ice cream
on my cheek, no curfew, and only
the moon between me and Mars.
It was the best goddam day.

Scratch that. It was the day of this week.
It was beautiful, you were sort of, and
there was a lot to listen to. It was fat
and I was still short.

This week it was today. All week.
I'd wake up thinking today at last
will be tomorrow and no, it was
still just the best goddam day.

Tomorrow it will be beautiful. But it
won't sound like today. You will,
sort of. It's been that kind of week.
Scratch that.

Between the moon and Mars lies today.
And I'll still pick you up tomorrow for ice cream,
if you want it. I've been wanting it
all goddam week. Again.
posted by Adam at 12:38 AM [edit]

The machinist's house

In the machinist's house the wheels turn the day to dust:
gone the apple I ate down to its core, gone the slow
march of the preschool kids to their pool, the water
tossed up and falling down again to wet the machinist's
wheels. I don't even know you
anymore.

In the machinist's house you spend all day
making a migraine, you cure your wounds
with salt just so we'll believe you (as if
we ever didn't). I don't even know you,
but I'll call you for ice cream if you're
crying.

The machinist and his machine. He's proud
of it, you know, especially when we all
come over to see it. With all its leather
straps and the butterflies crushed
inside it. I almost lost a finger to it,
or a tune, or a life. Almost. I was
saved.

In the machinist's house I'll come
to see you when you're dead,
I'll bury flowers in your grave
and keep your body lying
in the open. I'll keep any
part of you alive, my tears are
water.
posted by Adam at 12:28 AM [edit]

Letter to the New York Times:

To the Editor:

In pondering the possible economic impacts of an US invasion of Iraq ("$6 or $60," Op-Ed, July 31), Thomas Friedman writes, "give me sustained $10-a-barrel oil and I'll give you revolutions from Iran to Saudi Arabia, and throw in Venezuela." When we "throw in Venezuela" we find that he has crossed a very important line: Has Mr. Friedman forgotten that Venezuela is a democracy?

Though we may not like Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, the fact remains that he was freely elected with massive popular support in a country more democratic than either of the other two OPEC countries Friedman mentions. This year, the Bush administration has already been embarrassed by its failure to condemn (and alleged encouragement of) an undemocratic attempted coup in Venezuela, and more recently by its overt attempts to influence elections in Bolivia, where candidate Evo Morales opposes some portions of US drug war strategy in his country.

The US has a long enough, and dirty enough, history of backing undemocratic regime change in Latin America, almost always at the cost of civilian bloodshed and a loss of freedoms. For Mr. Friedman to casually toss off the suggestion that we catalyze the destruction of yet another democratically-elected government in the region is simply irresponsible. Let Chavez lose an election.

posted by Adam at 11:46 PM [edit]