Functor
Functor dreamed in parentheses. This was notable for three reasons. The first and most banal was that Functor was not programmed in Lisp or any Lisp-alike. It wasn’t a Lisp Machine or an emulator of a Lisp Machine. It didn’t know Lisp — it could,...
Limerent Object (parts 26-30)
# 26 When I was in school back at Saint John's, I was met with a sudden cessation of chores. I had things to do, to be sure. Things that were repetitive and at times menial, but when you grow up on a farm, the concept of 'chore' goes well beyond...
Liminality
A year starts not on January first. The days may hunder but the seasons speak of time's long march, of fast time, slow time. Thirst for "start" and "end" neglects the limen sleek. So, why do some unsubtle sciences forget...
The eighteenth whisker on the left is brown
The eighteenth whisker on the left is brown. I know this after countless nights awake beside you, watching every quiet breath. You puff your whiskers out on every yawn. On longer work-filled days, your whiskers wilt, ...
Unimportant Verse 15
Mi glutos mian amon por vi. Mi glutos mian amon. Mi glutos mian amon por vi Kaj frandos la ekflamadon de magnezio, Gxuos la oferbucxadon, Gxojos la auxtolizadon De sekretaj cxeloj. Mi glutos mian amon por vi. Mi glutos mian amon. * *...
Unimportant Verse 12
When a light so far above me shines down, I lose my footing, stop, look around, and for once, see my way lit before me. Through you, I learn how I move. Through you, I see how I act. Through you, I judge myself. When a light so far...
The Presence Between the Pages
"Every five years we must take down every scroll, stack by stack, and replace the rugs beneath them. We must also unroll the scroll and make note of its condition," the monk rasped. "The latter will not be your responsibility, young one, but we are...
Unimportant Verse 10
I could never tell you that you feel too much. That you feel too hard, or that your feelings overwhelm and overtake you. I could never tell you how beautiful that is. That I wish I could feel those things, that I wish I could feel that way. ...
The dogs assure me
The dogs assure me: There are volumes of meaning — Life and death — And time; Past, present, future — In the scent of a rotting fish left after the flood, Or a trace of scat, Or the coyote, long passed, But not everyone reads...
Unimportant Verse 13
Every time I seek to change my life, myself, my love, my name, every time I try and broaden my range in this shitty, all-encompassing game, I hesitate. With every change in my life comes the terror of maybe losing you of maybe being caught in...
Pale She
Her eye turns inward, vision dims and movement stills as winter claims her Thoughts like leaves fall slow, hesitate, drift, rustle, sigh. Frost-rimed remnants rot. Some paler she asks: do you see the sky through me? Do I frame its...
Unimportant Verse 17
Cover me, crush me, compress me. Squeeze me down until I fit in your pocket. Let me jangle among your keys, or slip between bills in your wallet. Forget me, let me fray, let me fall apart. And, some day, pull me free, dust me off, flatten...