Ice And Fire

glass was colder than I had ever seen it, moist and weeping,

and the light had become saturated with dull water. Outside

there was the funniest phone box, so small it wasn’t even the

size of a fire hydrant, and there was a plant shop with the

ugliest plants, all the same color green with no letup, no

flower, no variation. The street running alongside the wall of

glass was stones, the old kind of street, suffering under the

cars, humans push ourselves on it and it moves under us, trying

to get away.

His ears meanwhile flared out. His tongue splattered water.

His nose was caked. His shoulders dropped, trying to find

94

China. His shirt was open to the middle of his chest, showing

off his black hairs, all amassed, curled, knotted. It is not normal

for a man not to button his shirt. God was generous with

signs.

His fingers intruded, reaching past everything, over the ashes

and butts, over the hills and reservoirs and deserts of torn

matchbook covers that I had erected as an impenetrable geography, and they were so finely tuned to distress that they went past all those piles, and they reached mine, small, stubby,

hard to find. Oh, his teeth were terrible.

All round there were students, archangels of hope and time

to come, with dreams I could hear in their chatter and see

circling their heads. Faces unlined, tired only from not sleeping,

those horrible reminders of hope and time. Hamburgers were

abundant. Serious persons, alone, ate salad. We drank coffee,

this man and me.

*

I was appropriately frail and monosyllabic. “ No. ” Soft. No.

His was a discourse punctuated with intense silences, great

and meaningful pauses, sincere and whispered italics. “ Look—

I need you— to do something on jeans commercials — Brooke

Shields —something on the First Amendment — I want— you—

to talk about little— girls— and seeing— their tooshies. I

mean— listen — what

you— have— is— terrific— /

mean— /

know— I know — how good it— is— and I d o n 't— want— you—

to change— it. But the country needs— to know— what you—

think— about Calvin Klein— which is— to— me— frankly— and

I— tell— you— this— straight—out — worse than cocaine— and

I want— you— to say— that. I want —your voice— right—