-
Of Snakes, Of Gluttony
- Southern Illinois University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
OfSnakes,OfGluttony I’veheardthepotatoisexotic, thatitoriginallycamefromPeru bornofapre-Columbianculture richinpeanutsandwarrior-priests. Idon’tknowifthisistrue butIbelieveit.Itaddsflavor, phyllo-layersofhistoryandplace, Neruda’scontinentofthecoiled anaconda,rapacious,religious, gigantic.Thoughpossiblythereare noanacondainPeru,itdoesn’tmatter— gluttonyisn’tinterestedinaccuracy. It’sdifferencesIcrave,themany kindsofpotato—redandIdaho, augratin,Frenchfried—Ieatthemall— likeswallowinganeggwhole, everythingtakenintothejaws, thejawsmycontinentofsound, long-vowelIandgenerouspi— atailofnumberstwistingthrough generationslonger,Szymborskahassaid, thanthelongestsnake.Insatiable, immense.Inexplicableaslove. Ilovetheinexplicable— thisworldwherejoyisstillpossible despitehistory’slessons—howwetorture ourneighborsandeatourenemies. DespitetheHumpty-Dumptyvertigo ofourhearts,alwaystheheliumhope thatsomethingwillhappen.Abacchanalian gambolonthegreen,Brueghel’srotund bodiesstomping,codpiecesrisingto motionandrhythmliketheheadsof curiouscobras.Lifeislikethat—surprisingly inflatable.Theusedairthattookrefuge inmylungsnowbellowspastcilia androse-petaledgillstosnakeitsway toafetuswhereitbubbles—partstar, partamoeba,lightthatshoutsandcell thatgropesacrosslaboratoryslide asIgropenowtosayit—howwetakein thestringysyllables,thispulsingcord, tosenditoutagain.Iholdithere, bellandclapper,mouthandtongue. ...