the guardian: the guardian text:

[Alan Sondheim]

the guardian: the night; terror my hits mind in begins middle pain of in
night; the my terror mind hits begins in its the pain middle left thought:
frontal that lobe. of first the thought: tunnels that collapsing tunnels
left collapsing frontal city. sure second: it government to makes me; sure
i it am gets already to city. me; second: i the am government already
makes psychologically falling falling apart. apart. shipments shipments of
nuclear weapons weapons arrive arrive daily daily psychologically here;
new i'm buildings it. it's new easy buildings to down. here; it's i'm easy
sure distribute it. remnants anthrax biological sexy. weapons. a anthrax
few is men sexy. have a the few remnants men of have biological changed
the everything world. world. forced once conversion again raises forced
its conversion changed raises everything ugly this head system carrying
will big down stick. in this x-number system of will ugly go head down
carrying x-number big seconds. brooklyn cut across brooklyn the off; river
you to swim seconds. across it's river to manhattan, to another only
landfall. can only you then head can inland; inland;  another radioactive
on clouds what hold appears back. be on a what peninsula... appears you be
clouds peninsula... you don't there's chance; here, there's water's no in
food short here, supply, water's don't short a supply, chance;
electricity's and and gangs gangs over. take everyone over. becomes
everyone psychotic, becomes electricity's psychotic, down caught money
between and money bartering bartering coinage economies; is coinage
useless, useless, caught stock bartering market's holds dead out gone. the
holds of out riots; midst dead riots;  gone. electronics don't are run,
for bread's free, going run, bodies bread's lying going in down,
electronics bodies are lying for street. the see forming, cancers gnawing
forming, the rats street. gnawing you what's can left, in pesticides
hardware locked store hardware already store in vaults... the night,
locked comes or me, without armageddon doubt, two as or earth three this
without comes doubt, me, as this earth armageddon leaps just final few
convulsions. men, just all. men, leaps that's to all. final enormous fight
leverage. to they'll the fight finish. finish. out spit enormous their
they'll tongues at tongues each at other. each we're other. all we're
dead. all

the guardian text: the terror hits in the middle of the night; my mind
begins its pain in the left frontal lobe. first thought: that of the
tunnels collapsing in the city. second: the government makes sure it gets
to me; i am already psychologically falling apart. shipments of nuclear
weapons arrive daily here; i'm sure of it. new buildings falling down.
it's easy to distribute the remnants of biological weapons. anthrax is
sexy. a few men have changed everything in the world. once again forced
conversion raises its ugly head carrying a big stick. this system will go
down in x-number of seconds. it's easy to cut brooklyn off; you swim
across the river to manhattan, across another to landfall. only then can
you head inland;  radioactive clouds hold you back. on what appears to be
a peninsula... you don't have a chance; there's no food here, water's in
short supply, electricity's down and the gangs take over. everyone becomes
psychotic, caught between money and bartering economies; coinage is
useless, the stock market's dead and gone. bartering holds out in the
midst of riots;  electronics are for free, don't run, bread's going down,
bodies lying in the street. you can see the cancers already forming, rats
gnawing what's left, pesticides locked in hardware store vaults... already
in the night, this comes to me, this armageddon two or three without a
doubt, as earth leaps to final convulsions. it's just a few men, that's
all. then there's enormous leverage. they'll fight to the finish. they'll
spit out their tongues at each other. we're all dead.


===