this is how things are

there are places
where snakes wait
tails in their mouths
against the chance people
will stop pretending that
there is no proof
of the way they chase themselves
of the way each end
is in its beginning

this has been proved

but
it has not happened
in so long
it is as if
it hasn’t ever happened

people say
if it happened
where’s the proof
that it happened

when another snake
happens to eat
its own tail
it seems that would be
enough proof

instead what will happen
(what always happens)
is that people
not trusting that what happens
happens
will demand
plural and immediate proof
and it takes so long
for these things
to happen
and it only happens
in solitary moments
that
they will forget and deny
that it ever happened

yes
it takes
so long to prove
that what happens
to a snake and its tail
is what always happens

but now we are here
and here’s another snake
reaching around himself

this is how things end and begin
this is how it happens

Class today:

— instructor did not do a single thing that was listed on the class outline.

— instructor lectured nonstop on the history of historical representation of minorities in American culture from (wait for it) 9AM to 1:30 PM. then, we broke for lunch for twenty minutes.

(I should have told her that I know a lot of people who could do this in about three minutes flat.)

— when we came back, we introduced ourselves (mind you, this is the 4th class we’ve all taken together) according to a questionnaire she put together that placed us in the context of the discussion we’d been having. It ended with a confrontation over same-sex marriage that had a woman leave the class in tears. (Guess who chased her down and played peacemaker? Yes, me…and my amazing ability to calm down Pentecostal Christians who are feeling persecuted.)

— All three of the presentations due for this weekend will be done tomorrow. WHEEEEEEEEE.

…and tonight was a ball too…

Lord have mercy.