Pigs

Oct 4, 2026 ∞

VIII.xxiv. ( we wont ) rot ( unless ) we forget ( its his pòò ) in the well

ADEIMANTOS: O sailors of our craft, O Polly-tay,

how blows the wind on this, her holly-day?

SAILORS: who( which-all? )( what-all? )( -all? ), then,

( o somebodys )( o anybodys )( o many anyones )

( do you pay the price? )( do you pay-off your debt? )

( she-dyad-god )( was she binding )( bind, you )( god-

needed-bound )( was she in-need )( need, you )

( she-dyad-god )( indeed )must( be ) ?

τίνες δή;

ADEIMANTOS: aaah . . . she holds so much uncertainty,

but still its me, o yet-un-answered-we !

and how exhilaration bellows off the sea !

these breezes high indeed, and so far-flung

from smog of city men, she saves our lung.

but ( the air is thick with the smell of rot )

below, within our private pilots cell.

for she without be she within as well,

and ( weve been burning dupa ) given me

as gifts from islanders who welcome guests.

for there be no more pious men than what

some unreal men call swarthy savages,

gave scent helps me-ears mingling mightly.

whereby ( we hear ) shes ( clinging on tightly )

to what, an ear, an oar, the yard-arm or

the mast, broke be that merry beam no more,

no scrub for me, no scrub for her, sailors

supplied to do all dirtier chores,

let me, let be, relax, o soothing sea.. ( . . . Enya )

. . ( ..and then we talk )-( with her and really listening )-( better ),

HERA: but still( he )who, at least,

braver( stronger-mightier-better ) — be(

we )as much as far-sounding( euru-opa )Zeus( would be

braver )( mightier )( stronger )( better )( than )Kronos,

ἀλλ᾽ ὅ γε φέρτερος ἔστω, ὅσον Κρόνου εὐρύοπα Ζεύς.

SOKRATES: which( even-indeed, o )most wonderful

( marvellous, extraordinary )of all to hear,

ὃ μὲν πάντων θαυμαστότατον ἀκοῦσαι,

ADEIMANTOS: lets fare-thee-well, O best goddess !

at least as much as Euru-dike would-( we

)-be braver than Euru-opa? what crazy ratios.

but would that she ( who made herself in me ) meet herself ( in we ) !

our promise as our payment, dear divine,

( and everything Achilles would to pine ),

yet smouldering ( of leaves ) leaves air unclear.

( the what ifs and the buts ) begin to appear

soon as our flourish in pink ( -ink ) on papier,

SOKRATES: that in each of( those )which( we )praised

( approved, commended )( of )the( she- )nature

( growth-birth-origin )

( it )destroys( demolishes )( slays )( lays waste )( loses )

the( she- )having-holding-

( they cool )( we cool )( to be cool )( cooling )( of her )-soul

( life, spirit, ghost, source, self ),

ὅτι ἓν ἕκαστον ὧν ἐπῃνέσαμεν τῆς φύσεως ἀπόλλυσι τὴν ἔχουσαν ψυχὴν

ADEIMANTOS: and indeed to live in crucial-fiction, which ( witch ) brings

us to the ever-controversial ( mushrooms ).

first thing a mushroom ( we are ) many things.

it goes both ways, or three or four, parts-sing.

( we recommend those only grown on dung

or best discovered with a trusted pig. )

eat me, they seem to say, eat her, or you?

or you-know-who! or him? not mine to say.

and mushrooms come in different kinds, my kids,

( unsafe to say weve tried more than a few? )

they do a number on my surely-temple,

on whom, we wait for guidance from above

as sailors hit the decks, tripping-( and for

a moment )-if our sailors loose the ship —

SOKRATES: and( indeed, it )( would )tears- and drag( away-

from )( you )( would )( be tearing-away-

from )( she- )philosophy( wisdom-love ),

καὶ ἀποσπᾷ φιλοσοφίας.

ADEIMANTOS: as which, we call a mushroom bad-for-you ( poison ).

( but this has been a little prophecy )

( exteeeeeeeeeeeeeeended metaphor )

( a little pharmacy of written word )

( translating too all of the media that

the vast

numbers of men consume ) ( and possibly soul-

alter-

altar-ring technology ) ( which leaves a lot

of room ) ( we maybe beauty-calling scrolls )

but ( we flip? ) into this irony ( of anti-scroll

as these-shes grow the trippiest of blooms )

and how spores drift in the all-pink

( a soul put under things at her own risk )

( and men on-going tax her stretchiness )

( he-they his remedy or pharmakon for his )

( he-they his own doctor his own ills )

as ( the hopeful dreams ) gathering- and holding-in,

( and the things we refuse to say ) to my best friend,

( really? ) ( of course ) my best friend ( we-being ) second-self,

( easy for him to say ) ( just stole to-for-by Aristotle )

( we are true pirates, through it all )-( but shhh )

in letters like a daily vitamin,

in some ancient cloud of shroom, weird-stream,

( by our best-friend-ship )-( we forget to hate myself )

and so this mushroom got our horses out,

SOKRATES: but( we would )say( she- )manliness( courage ),

λέγω δὲ ἀνδρείαν,

ADEIMANTOS: ( and you pinch )-( the goblin that lives in my head )

not hard! ( but fit to chase it out of bed )

( then baits it with a bite ) of ( sprinkles! ) sweet medicine.

and possibly the goblin could turn cat

( or rat ) ( or dinosaur ) ( and it could bite me pretty bad )

( but we wont let go of the wanting ) and even

as we never did, even in ( my scare-

crone heart )-( born on fragrant spring mornings )

( in her salad days ) ( before the unrealpolitik )

( before bad wisdom ) yet salvaging the goods

( as drawing butterflies on whats discarded )

( to-by-for ) me and you ( becoming beautiful

and young again ) ( in-seeming poetics of )

SOKRATES: ( she-)moderation( sophrosune )( sound-

mindedness, prudence, discretion )

and( indeed )

( all things )which( she-dyad )( we )go through

all( which )( things )( his-so-called-all )( the she-dyad ),

σωφροσύνην καὶ πάντα ἃ διήλθομεν.

ADEIMANTOS: but we have some words on poems

haphazard heraldry ( even seeming innocuously )

when living words get put down as fixed form.

( they turn into the ache of yearning ) tossed

across however many continents,

with latitude and longitude intact,

but tissue burden highly over-stretched,

for ( the yearning ) never could yearning dispell

and such i( wheres the we? )s life, and such i( wheres the we? )s happiness,

all mans desire(s residuum ) ( keeps poisoning

the well of hope ) like all my cold hard pennies cast

for wishes

( swallowed fishes )

( empty stare )

HERAKLES: but Hermes sent( escorted-conducted )me,

and( look, you )gleaming-( glaukopis )-

eyed Athena( o Athens, o Politeia ),

Ἑρμείας δέ μ᾽ ἔπεμψεν ἰδὲ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.'

ADEIMANTOS: so circumnavigated metaphors,

but written as ourselves of messy words,

or forceful dreams, dreams of a force to reckon

with her eyesight even ( as intense as the nettles )

would we guard ( the dreaming ) until ( we earn his name ) ?

and even as we drink ( the water never fully clear )

with every draught of some forgetfulness,

and rarely shallow, mostly deep ? and as

to navigation ( on some how-divided-line ) ?

whats some logos ( word-speech-ratio-account ) as set down

here, that would ( will ) keep us well on the way?

SAILORS: placeless( out-of-place, out-of-the-way, un-

wonted, extra-ordinary, strange,

para-doxical, ab-surd )

( a-topos ),

ἄτοπον,

SOKRATES: ( smiles primly and steeples his hands )

well even ( with their outstretched arms ) in love

( no matter how hard we keep trying ) him ( its purifying! )

( my nettle tea ) he wont ( we wont ) seize hold of me,

ADEIMANTOS: even( indeed )beautiful( her-we-being )

therefore( to-by-for )me,

καλὴ μὲν οὖν μοι

SAILORS: ( he )was saying,

ἔφη,

SOKRATES: and indeed they ( reach for me on my way home )

( theres always a drop somewhere ) ( or how do you live? )

but he wont ( we wont ) be poisoned by his hope ( or his despair ),

ADEIMANTOS: and( indeed )the( she- )guidance( pompe )

( conduct, escort, sending-home, sending-mission, she-procession )

( of )( the local customs )( of the chorus )( of the dances )

( on the open spaces )( epi-chorion )( on the chora )

would seem-seemly to( we-being )be,

καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων πομπὴ ἔδοξεν εἶναι,

SAILORS: to hear,

ἀκοῦσαι. (491ξ)

SOKRATES: from the unsightly, you may feel fear.

however ( not quite touching ) her ( through-shining ) heart,

you wont ( we wont ) look backwards at her shade

leaving e.g. likenesses of gibbering bats, ( !? )

ADEIMANTOS: not however( even-indeed-by-you )inferior

( o worse, weaker, less, fewer )( did she )appear( shining-

forth )to resemble( be conspicuously like, befit, beseem )

( she )whom the Thracians( o Thracians )( we )were sending,

( he offers Book III for more specific guidance ) <3

οὐ μέντοι ἧττον ἐφαίνετο πρέπειν ἣν οἱ Θρᾷκες ἔπεμπον.

SOKRATES: just so, he holds my trust and confidence

no worse than they hold my written art;

( and then it spreads ) abroad our pharmakon.

ALL: ( and blowing in the wind for all to hear )

and then it spreads abroad our pharmakon !

ADEIMANTOS: ( . . . ) ( later in our private cell )

yet he left me with more questions than when ( whò? )

began. ( yet it had been the ) END ( of ) part VIII

( until )

( . . . )

( hes obviously been looking back

in the pages of the ledger ) wondering what it means

( at first incredulous toward any pro-

hibition against self-looking ) ( let alone self-touching )

( but having-holding a spiders sense ) how not

to look backwards at her shade? ( and finding them

in need of certain re-visions, re-translations )

just pondering ( them ) making certain changes

( oh ) ( groaning )-( laughing ) ( of course ) ( straightening-out

one-by-one like slight monsters ) ( web ) not

because it made me to, but because it makes

it make better sense ( but in a leisurely way )

( and just us two ) ( me and you ledger )

( and with a dawning recognition ) she hasnt

been led astray, she hasnt incurred the wrath

of any important he, really ever, and that

this path has been a straight path, never-

theless seeming and having felt so ( beauty-calling ) squiggly

( nor being the snake that swallowed a stick )

( mostly these three, which-they reached out like good

test-cases ) ( oh ) ( how about instead

to write this one here from memory ) ( for now )

( and he would leave the former in whatever

version got left . . . ) is that my intended task?

( cackling at shopping carts full of unpurchased poems )

Hera forgive me if this is too me-involved

( it seemed itself-involved ) ( trial )( to-by-for )( trials ) as ever

( . . . )

the spinners distaff ( on genealogy )

for when youre here, have this of me. as time
lets go of us, a song escapes the circlet in
a stranger coming home; eventuality.

under covers of moonlight, the sheets
softened by memory, a gnawing book-
worm spins the orphanage; mulberry leaves.

some shadows at a funeral see less, and lesson
me, nightmare and burning limb; tree spun
to hold a hand in grace, fatherlessness.

( . . . )

equally
if you would really ask
me

ἴσως
ἂν οὖν ἔροιό
με

( Phaedrus 234β )

( . . . )

equally. today wanting to do something like this

but feeling like we need your permission ?

( . . . )

three ( on_a_loop ) on black swan lake

hold me so tight we can barely breathe

on loop in my head, that thought

useless

ii.

we want to leave
for we feel unloved

we cant leave
for we feel unlovable

a loop of equally bleak options

iii.

i shouldnt and i cant and im not allowed
but we do and we are and we want

these words repeating
nothing else left

( . . . )

it gave me tears last night to imagine

giving those three a place. weve been told to follow

tears, so. meteorology. but this next . . . one ?

it seems a perfect candidate not just to toss

but to hurl fom afar ( we understand now about Homeric

verbs ) ( and they have a movement ) like a projectile off

the ship, but not such as this would we share

amongst those of the Politeia, and he would beg

Homer and other poets not to blame us

please sirs for

( . . . )

the daddys issue

some days its like im your magazine
some days its like im your loaded gun
these days it makes no difference which oil( one )spill

yes we received your letter yesterday and all
the days before, your hollow men, your dump
truck spat into my bed, and were not sure

you got it but he wrote you on the third
to say, how dare you write me when you never
learn to read a single fucking word

( . . . )

he cant imagine a good reason to write it again.

( she doesnt think it bothered you though ? )

( oops almost forgot the Greek - )

whether id recommend
for you
to gratify
all
the not-loving ( ones )

( Phaedrus 234β )

εἰ ἅπασίν σοι παραινῶ τοῖς μὴ ἐρῶσι χαρίζεσθαι

( we wants to know which one of yours you would put next? )

but speaking of the στεφανώσασα, news:

those shes of Athens ( or the Politeia ) who

would never filch their husbands crowns, or chaplets

put on fake beards and grow thick armpit hair

before the sun rises, with their husband stuck

taking a crap on the street, yet constipated, literally

unable to take a shit, while she-they-up and write a law.

in my dream of spare time, did you catch a whiff

of another flagrant-hims flagrant in-joke?

did you know about this? ( were you keeping me away

from this on purpose? ) lol ( at first looking for hooks

but is it just an arsenal ? maybe would delete this later

but sitting here in stunned disbelief, yet again )

( the absolute master of comedy ) ( breaking

thhis fourth wall to give us ) ( tips ) he . . .

hes here for his own crown ? ( breathe, me !

starstruck for a moment ) ( did you know?? )

( is it sabotage ??? ) lmao

( . . . )

wow ( thats one big old ugly hooker )

( good luck us! ) doin my best <3

( . . . )

( to be clear, she would seem a beautiful and good hooker

yet the word ugly written so many times on an old it

indicated to me its an old ugly hooker )

( or its baiting me into saying ugly things )

( which seems like an ugly thing to do )

( and admittedly feeling uncomfortable about what seems

from the outside to be a big rape joke )

( and not trusting this one the same as the other one )

( but having only today begun closer translation

it remains unclear what anything is )

( anyway its a lot and may take me more time than expected )

( . . . )

todays notes. okay. eyes adjusting.

barley-cakes fermenting under the kitchen countertop.

( . . . )

keeps thinking about a boy in the audience.

( . . . )

or should have said audiences ( plural )

and cant help thinking of a certain boy

and lifetimes spent listening for a certain boy . . .

two scary dreams last night ( real dreams ) ( how u knew ? )

one of getting accosted in a dark parking lot by two men

as a third man, who could have given me a ride, left me behind.

another of waiting in the attic of our house surrounded

by men armed, for the( she )velociraptors to attack.

if were psychoanalyst — or psychosynthesis

or both, all of which made me really need a nap

( empousa has-and-holds envisioned boy )

( deserving one and getting one - two different things )

( o one self to know to write the tragic - comic art )

but he must be seeing many news today

watching grammar itself become a kind of map

not for the first time imagining you with your languages

seeming to sense these it - things more readily

( are different cases different chambers of a heart ? )

( or organs ) ( nominative for eyes ) ( accusative for ears )

( dative for phrenes ) ( genitive for womb ) ( vocative

for nose ) ( idle guesses ) ( should get back to work )

thinking about the English wor(l)d and its capacities

( a language of apparencies and externalities )

( a language burying - in its scene of crimes )

wondering what its like to translate all of this

from their dense language into yours

( we think about your thoughts feelings a lot

too ) ( nonstop really ) ( obsessed )

our ( my ) ledger on one side of a scale ( like a see -

saw ) and on the other your pamphlet

( first real rain of rainy season today )

from hymn to Apollo

Republic I, VI, X

Odyssey. 11.613-626

Sep 18, 2026 ∞

VIII.x. ( from the ashes of this ) darling town ( a phoenix in ) fall colours

ADEIMANTOS: ( o Sokrates, why have you named

him fearless? ) ( and why wont he say more? )

( even if we ask ) ( poke ) hm-mm.

( he still wont speak ) ( his irony

grows thick as wool ) baaa ( but how

is this being unafraid? ) ( doesnt he know

they-we want to hear everything about him? )

SOKRATES: for( it does )nt have-and-hold( the )nature

( growth-origin )( of )the steersman( kubernetes )

( they-dyad were steering )

( to bind himself )( to be in-need )of the sailors,

to be ruled( dyad-spider-web )by( from-under him )self.

οὐ γὰρ ἔχει φύσιν κυβερνήτην

ναυτῶν δεῖσθαι ἄρχεσθαι ὑφ᾽ αὑτοῦ

ADEIMANTOS: ( thinks for a while ) ( o kubernetes )

night falls over the town in a blink ( o sprinkles! )

( what has-and-holds your nature, origin, growth? )

( where did you come from? ) ( would you show us? )

we would take you to the spot by the lake,

( okay, lets go ) ( and walk around it ) ( one way

and the other way ) ( but walking anytime we could )

( some days the high path on the ridge, some days

the low ) ( sun, rain, or snow ) ( she found a place

to listen to herself ) ( in him ) ( we-seeking-we )

( we were right there ) ( we were reflection ) ( we

were seasons ) ( light air and water ) ( burning

star ) ( so ) ( neither are we a city man ) ( strictly )

( nor are we a business person ) ( really? )

( cant be ) ( not here ),

SOKRATES: nor(for)the wise(skilled-clever ones)

to go(up to)the double-folding-she-doors

(you will thrust out-of-doors)

of the wealthy-rich(ones),

οὐδὲ τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς τῶν πλουσίων θύρας ἰέναι,

ADEIMANTOS: ( in the rebellious phases of my youth )

we inhale the cellar-like scent in the air,

( and we reflect upon the few important years )

( sprinkles! ) ( spent waiting for the metro line )

( or behind the gynmasium of a public school )

( and lets be near the nations capital )

( coming-and-going to the man-made-real )

( the weird, the wild, the human unpredictable )

( for company and fumes to strengthen breadth )

( by breath of fog ) ( where sky looks like a cave )

( and yes, we walk the razors edge of her )

where we used to sit smoking as a teenager,

( as if self-damage would make her invincible )

( after some boy had said her joy was hideous ),