2002-04-28 - 1:16 a.m.
late one night i danced around the rings of saturn
and as i waltzed i came upon an opera singer performing for no one
she opened her mouth to draw breath for the opening cadenza
and swallowed a fly
poor fly
it was carried down that glorious throat
into the woman's stomach
there it was dark and slimy and hot
almost like a mother's womb
hardly noticing, the opera singer resumed her song
but the fly was alone in his cavernous tomb
and there her lovely voice echoed
like a nuclear explosion.
"This song is loud" thought the fly.
"songs shouldn't be loud
brothers are loud
parents are loud
singing should be soft
soft like 'the colors of butterfly wings'"
and, even as the fly thought this,
the song swelled in a grand crescendo
and the fly collapsed
lost in the pain of the reverberating sound waves
but the opera singer never knew.
she continued to sing
even as the the little fly took its last breath,
thought its last thought.
i didn't understand what had happend out there
on the rings of saturn
but the little fly died,
while the music rang triumpantly
'there was an old woman who swallowed a fly
i don't know why she swallowed a fly
perhaps she'll die.'
will i?
