that they were at the beach [excerpt]
Playing ball—so it’s like paradise, not because it’s in the past, we’re on a field; we are creamed by the girls who get together on the other team. They’re nubile, but in age they’re thirteen or so—so they’re strong
(No one knows each other, aligning according to race as it happens, the color of the girls, and our being creamed in the foreground—as part of it’s being that—the net is behind us).
A microcosm, but it’s of girls—who were far down on the field, in another situation of playing ball—so it was an instance of the main world though they’re nubile but are in age thirteen or so.
My being creamed in the foreground—so it’s outside of that—by a girl who runs into me, I returned to the gym.
It’s in the past—yet is repressed in terms of the situation itself, poor people who’re working, the division is by color. We’re not allowed to leave the airport on arriving—others not permitted to stop over—we're immature in age, so it’s inverted.
(Therefore receded—we get on the bus going to the city and look around, seeing people dressed shabbily).
A man—I was immature in age—was a stowaway so not having been active, taken from the ship we’re on in a row boat.
(A sailor had fallen out of the row boat then, was embarrassed. So it's like paradise—the embarrassment, therefore it’s depressed—seen by his waving at us as the other sailors are coming to him).
The class period ending—it’s evanescence not because it’s in the past, they’d stamped their feet while seated since the teacher hadn’t been able to discipline them. She’s old—the red hair coloring had been mocked—they’re inactive.
(So it’s evanescent because they‘re inactive. Though I am as well. She’d asked me to pull on her hair to indicate it was her real hair, which I do—them being unaware of this—as the class is disbanding, composed of girls and boys).
It is also an instance in the past, so it's depressed—yet the people on the bus aren’t nubile, rather are mature.
We’re girls—have to urinate which is unrelated to immaturity—refusing to do so in front of others; we require the bus to leave us. Therefore there aren’t other people, we urinate, and then look around.
(So it’s inactive—is depressed).
Tall, though they are nubile—playing leap frog is out of place; we’re required to do so. It’s contemporary in time so it's not depressed—I was immature, thirteen in age or so; responding to the other girls kicking as they jumped over some of us.
(So it’s not depressed—but not as being active. I’m creamed, until the crowd of girls is pulled off by an instructor who’s in the gym).
Attending a funeral—it's contemporary in time, not being in itself depressed; taking a ridiculous aspect—birds that sing loudly in the chapel where the funeral service is being held. The birds are mechanical—so it’s being creamed.
(Like in the earlier episode of playing ball. Our being creamed in the foreground of the field by the other girls).
A microcosm, but it's of sailors—though I’m given attention standing in pictures with one or two of the men. They’ve come into a port at one time—I’m immature in age—it doesn't occur for that reason but is inverted, the sailors flirted with girls.
(Which is contemporary in time therefore. And being mechanical since I’m interested in the sailors, then merely interest).
A boy who was actually at the funeral—so it’s inverted—was later playing ball, really occurring.
(Inverted also because of being at the funeral, mechanical birds part of it; so it isn’t creamed in the future—not because of that).
The boy who was actually at the funeral—corresponds to work as a chimney sweep which I had for a short time—is inverted
(I didn’t take the job seriously since it was in the past—I was supposed to do it awhile, was contemporary. So it’s related to the boy; I got sick from the soot—so my leaving after working only two days stemmed from that).
Someone else driving—the funeral having taken place—is getting speeding tickets, with us in the car—we’re older than he
So we don’t say anything because we’re older. Not about the police stopping him, the drive is several hundred miles at night—which is like him later going below the border
*
Him not being sentient
A man whoring—it’s from the standpoint of a girl, is a situation of trying to finance going below the border to whore and staying down there as long as he can before having to return to get some job.
(It’s a microcosm, is also inverted—not retroactive).
From that they were at the beach by Leslie Scalapino. Copyright © 1985. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.