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To the Reader Awakened by a Noisy Furnace
- University of Illinois Press
- Chapter
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7 TotheReaderAwakenedbyaNoisyFurnace You’veheardtheoneaboutthetwo-bitcrook who,whenfingeredforthecops,spillsall.Hesings, theysay,likeacanary,andthusavoidsjail.Asdoeshisboss, whowhispers“InGodWeTrust”inafewopenpalms. Intimetheguyfindsdecentworkinanothercity. Hesettlesintodomesticity,untilonewinter poof,he’sgone.Comespring,fishermenhauluptheircatch— acorpsewithoutheadorhands,faceorfingerprints. Well,whatofthedictator,littlematterwhich,plush amongthepalmsandmany-fingereddates, whosohatestohearacomplaint,eventhesilentlanguage ofthedeaf,hewillnothaveit.No,no,no. Sowhenthedissident,aplumpwordforsothinaman, asksforsleepingmats,agenerousgruel, somepencilsfortheboystoscrawlonbananaleaf, thebigman,thefatman,thesovereign can’tfathomtheinsult.Abashed,hewhispersinacurled attentiveear,andthedeedisashewished. Still,thethinman,themanwhospeakswithhishands won’tshutup—evenwitheachfingerlopped 8 offbyboltcuttingshears.Sure,silenceblankets eachmarblestepwhilethestitchesheal andthenewmoonraisesitsscimitar.Thenthethinman, thedeafmanwhumpsthestumpsofhispalms likeadrum,andthebeatspeaksaword,gruntandanthem evenhisearscanhear.Andyou,readingthis snuginyourdownybed,thefurnacethumpingitsthump, youhearittoo,orsomethingverylikeit. Andnowwhenitthumpsagain,you’llthinknotofthat butofthis—thepettycrookandtheinnocent dissident—howlanguagelikeasongcostonehislife, andsonglikelanguagegavetheotherhisback. Orsortof.You’llfestertherebeneaththesheets, thinkingmystory’sallwrong,aghastatits skewedmixofguiltandinnocence,wordandsilence. Perhapsthenyou’llthinkthisthestitch tothreadtheseboth,andmoney’shandineach, andthinkthestoryteller,yes,me, issomemoon-eyedMarxistonrelief.Simmerdown. Bepatient.Thefurnaceoughtsoonclickoff. Whenitdoesn’t,you’llstumbleupinslippers andtriponyoursleepingyellowdog inroutetonotchitgentledown,gaspricesontherise. Backinbed,allthreeofus,yes—you’llfeel butnotseethedeafmanandme—thethreeofus willcurseandblowinwhathandswehave: acoldhandthatsaysordoesanyhumanthing, theruefulhandthatwritesitdown. ...