Reading: Russell Banks’s Affliction Poem of the day! Eating Poetry

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry. The librarian does not believe what she sees. Her eyes are sad and she walks with her hands in her dress. The poems are gone. The light is dim. The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up. Their eyeballs roll, their blond legs burn like brush. The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep. She does not understand. When I get on my knees and lick her hand, she screams. I am a new man. I snarl at her and bark. I romp with joy in the bookish dark. –Mark Strand

Do you ever have overwhelming urges to do strange things? Walking over to the 7-11 to get some SpaghettiOs for lunch (what, you think because I’m vegetarian I’m concerned about my health or something?), I saw a brand new shiny silver VW bug and suddenly just wanted to go over and lean on it face first. Just give it a big old hug. Luckily I managed to control myself. (Not sure what the owner would’ve done, seeing a hairy hippie guy snuggling with his car. (A cohort has a blue beetle… maybe he’ll let me hug it.) I did freak some guy out a few nights ago. I was walking home and was engaged in a lively conversation in my head about why I hate the movie Vertigo. Right as this guy was walking in front of me I just said “Vertigo” out loud. He kind of flinched, looked at me and then away quickly, and hurried off. Hi. My name’s Scott and I’m a freak.