Pain and Lilies

I saw pain two times in the desert.

For what am I looking?

I thought it was appropriate for crushed aspirin to fall from my backpack onto the sand. But it wasn't nearly enough. Sometimes the desert reminds me of a song I hate, sometimes it reminds me of immensity, sometimes I cry with those who aren't actually crying. I do not think that they will cry for me.

"When you expect your opponent to yield you should also avoid hurting him." This came in a fortune cookie, written on a fortune. Probably in 2000 or 2001. Have you ever wondered if maybe you are that opponent whom you should avoid hurting? Have you ever wondered if maybe you should have licked up that aspirin despite the sand that would come with it? Have you ever written an essay about love crushed, only to discover you were both mortar and pestle and sand grain and aspirin?

"What's the point of forgetting if it's followed by dying?"

This is my Memorial Day 2009.