The Descent of Alette [“A car”]

"A car" "awash with blood" "Blood at our feet" "& I

& others" "have small springs" "of blood from our"

"feet & knees" "There is an inch or two" "of blood"

"all over" "the car floor" "Replenished" "Periodically"

"by our body springs" "of blood" "And trickling out"

"the door," "when it opens" "at stations." "The

tyrant" "sends a hologram" "a life-sized hologram" "of

himself" "into our car" "He stands mid-car" "& says:"

"'The blood at our" "feet" "has cost me" "so much"

"The blood" "at our feet" "has cost us so" "much"

"To clean" "the blood" "is difficult" "to clean the

car.'" "There is a litter" "of things" "in the

wash of blood" "I see sanitary" "pads," "kleenex,"

"black-blood encrusted" "old bandages" "An old black

suitcase" "spills out" "torn men's clothes" "& frayed towels"

"The hologram tyrant" "says, 'Here" "are my tears'" "Holds

up his palm" "His tears are" "small drops of jade"

"Red" "& white jade" "His tears have turned to jade"

"They will be placed in" "a National" "Museum" "There is

something in" "my ear" "I pull it out a" "white cord"

"a long" "silk cord" "I pull it out &" "hear our blood"

"It hums" "a unison one" "note loud a" "sheet of sound"

"It hangs there" "sad insect noise" "insect-like"

"Our blood."

Copyright Credit: ""A car" "awash with blood"" from THE DESCENT OF ALETTE by Alice Notley, copyright © 1992 by Alice Notley. Used by permission of Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Source: The Descent of Alette (Penguin Books, 1992)