Surgeons General Warnings

Surgeons General Warnings

“Most enduring structures [seemingly
sustainable in their terms—having
been around for a long time, figure
they must be doing IT right etc.]
in nature, society, the human psyche,
are resistant to fundamental changes,
by which I mean changes that alters
the givens (parameters, tolerances) of
those structures themselves.

No self-contained [system] can induce
it’s own fundamental change. It’s almost
a matter of logic, because self-containment
means it knows nothing beyond it’s own
givens. In such cases, accidents are
useful indeed.” (Lewis Hyde:
Trickster Makes This World )



It’s impossible for me to see & register
what undermines my own Directional
Navigational Algorithms.

I can SEE, sure—but not take-it-in.
I ignore: me—ignore-ant; myself:
rhino resistant to flung rice, flies,
fleas, outrageous slings and arrows
of other’s misfortune—purged of
pity and fear: walking catharsis.

Surrounded by testimonies of testicular,
colon, pancreatic, breast & lung cancers,
erectile dysfunctions, restless leg syndrome,
fires in California, fury in the middle east,
starvation in Africa, learning disabilities in
classrooms, cutting & binging & purging in
the dormitory not to mention ongoing sexual
assault & abuse none the less & never the
less not with standing I am impermeable
thank god—hermetically sealed, crucified
in a beaker of wine: chrysalic, insulated,
insular: how could I keep up with Gray’s
anatomy otherwise? Play a round of golf?
It’s a miracle.

No!
Man IS an island!
I can think on these things,
talk about them only because
I am salved: saved, signed, sealed,
delivered & solipsistic. Man in a moon
suit—protected from lunacy. Numb,
properly narcotized. Anesthetic.
How else? No whine released
before its time. Hurry up,
please.

xxxooo, Presbyter