from Among Phaiakians, Part II

in memory of Sarah Doelker & Leah Kraemer

7

No oil on the gulf. For our delight, though.

Pressed from olives, rich, & poured. Pressed

lung bursts & the body ceases breath.

Look, there are other ways to go

about this. I don’t want to see you

hurt. My hospitality. That’s what they

call it in the South. These warm climes

at the sea-side. Call that water Middle

Of The World. We have long known that

there are limits to perception. Limits to

a body giving more than metal does. Ribs pop,

it isn’t difficult. As when I watched

the young men dangling from Skylla’s mouth,

saw tendons flash in flesh that ripped

like poets’ lyres tuned overtight. That I

knew little of them hardly mattered. Came to,

standing on the roadside, heard the screams

& hear them. Son, you better breathe in

deeply. Anxiety is body-based. We are

anxious when our body hurts. Key articles including

her Dialectical Behavior Therapy Exercises to Calm

Your Body are the trigger. When I was young

I though it likely I would be harassed

by aliens from space. Why not me? I had

as good a chance as anyone. Then, when

no one from another world got into

contact with me, I was—well, just disappointed.

Put a small book on your stomach. It is not

an easy thing to hear, this tummy business

if you enjoy the fact you’ve put on weight

in other areas. Not a “text” book

but a “guide.” Put down your forks, already!

Is that the answer? A further & conclusive

reason is that it depends on details

of the contract. No, you didn’t sign it, did you?

Honestly, I can’t remember anything since losing

consciousness. Or, uh, who I am these days.

(Can’t give away too much before they love me.)

Yes, my liege, yer daughter’s mighty pretty,

but I wouldn’t dream’a actin on that

knowledge. And, honestly, you think

your sons could lure me into spadassinicide?

No way! However, every muscle

in my body aches right now, & all this

beauty is a momentary gift. My advocate

(you’d know her) threw it at me to impress

said daughter, nothing I could say would

change her mind. I’m glad it helped, I’m glad

she loves me, which is kind. These are helpful

data. And I hope that they aren’t meaningless.