PERSIFLAGE

October 25, 2007

Look at the breath too, what sort of thing it is; air: and not even that always the same, but every minute belched forth and again gulped down.

Marcus Aurelius
trans. C.R.Haines

PERSIFLAGE is updated on Thursdays.

Classifieds

I am a small man who enjoys the misfortunes of others. If you have had bad things happen to you recently why not drop me a line? At least I'll get a laugh out of it. Box 339.
Available: veteran ghostwriter for memoirs and such. I was responsible for Casper's recently released autobiography Boo Who? and several other works which I am not at liberty to name. If you have an interesting story to tell but are completely incapable of expressing yourself then contact me at Box 00.
For rent: one smallish garden salad. A little wilty but still okay. $3/day. Box 44.
Have a birthday gift to buy? Why not consider lichen? Dried bits of lichen can brighten a room or office. When placed in a dish or on a platter they look sort of edible. Spray painted they can simulate hair. Really there's nothing they can't be used for. I'm Lenny the Dried Lichen Guy.

*Tips for Autumnal Living:

Tip #6:  Raked leaves do not need to be bagged. They can be stored in the pockets of your summer clothes when you put them into storage. In the spring you will have loam for your garden.

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An Autumn Pome

      Fall,
         and the leaves
      on the ground
                    need
                              raking.

    Or
                  do they?*

Sally Kind

Charles Roche-Bobois

The last poems of minor 20th Century French "love" poet, Charles Roche-Bobois, are all set within the confines of the Paris Zoo. They are disturbingly erotic. As the poet neared death his work became surprisingly upbeat. It was as if, in his last weeks, Roche-Bobois finally understood that sexual activity, regardless of its highly pleasurable secondary benefits, is primarily about life and could function not only as an amusing solitary pastime but also, when enjoyed in the company of others, as a rather sticky affirmation of life itself.

Coupling, Trupling...

        Where there
             were two
             now there are
             three.

        Months ago
             as I stared
             through the bars
             of this very cage

        at these two's
             goatly copulations,
             I forgot that their

        self-stacking could
             produce a third.
             But it did.

Perhaps this is not CRB's strongest poem (the image 'self-stacking' is certainly overused in modern French poetry) but it is, nevertheless, a marvelous life affirmation, especially when one considers that it was written by a man who had but a short time to live.

Hugh Briss

Diary of a questionable character

June 16th Got up and looked suspicious for twenty straight minutes. Face hurt afterwards. Skulked in the bushes next door in the early afternoon. Scraped knee. Back sore from bending.

June 17th Didn't feel like going out. Peered through curtains instead. Had leftover tuna for lunch. Felt sick. Back to bed.

June 18th [missing entry - Ed.]

June 19th After yesterday woke tired and confused but rallied and spent the afternoon darting in and out of alleyways. In the early evening hung around outside the pharmacy which was closed.

June 20th Spent the morning in the apartment practicing pretending to tie shoes. Still looks like I'm actually tying them. Much more work to do.
In the afternoon cut eyeholes in yesterday's newspaper. Will try this out tomorrow.

June 21st Newspaper a huge success!

June 22nd Still flushed from the excitement of yesterday went downtown and furtively took notes while staring at people. A short man looked at me funny and I dropped my pad and began whistling "A Walk in the Black Forest".
Another brilliant day!

Anonymous

Don't Forget

Local blowhard, Glen Johnson, will deliver a slide lecture, You Can Go Home Again: Thomas Wolfe Was Wrong, at the University of Winnipeg (Room 3C01), Thursday, November 1st(All Saints Day) at 5pm.
This lecture will coincide with the launch of the catalogue for the exhibit Show + tell, so there is some incentive to go. Plus there should be muffins and/or cookies.