Paper Boats
- Paper Boats
I fly like paper, get high like planesIf you catch me at the border I got visas in my name
—Mathangi Arulpragasam
catamarannoun
a yacht or other boat with twin hulls in parallel
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Tamil kaṭṭumaram literally ‘tied wood’ [End Page 19]
Go to a place with no water& drink
Go to a place with no trees& find shade
Go to a place with no bodies& find yours buried there [End Page 20]
00A.This is the front of your bodyYou may use any kind of body to fold into this boat, this catamaranI am using a typical body with a slightly different color for front and backs of the boatI am using anything I can find around the house that looks like my body or yours
00B.This is the back of your bodyStart with the back of your body facing upFold the arms towards the chest along the axis of your spineDraw tight the skin and press down using your thumbs to make creases on your skin [End Page 21]
001.This is your body facing backward; this is your face placed on the ground
002.Fold yourself in half taking care to keep your spine from curving under the strain of the turn
003.Now unfold and press back your body to the ground, or flat against a wall or carAsk another body to press against you to achieve the necessary flatness beforemoving on, before proceeding to fold againNow strip from your body everythingthat will stop it from lying absolutely flat [End Page 22]
004.Crease your body across your chest, creating an axis from your right palm to your left foot.Touch your palm to your foot and hold yourbreath as your thumb presses down on any skinbubbling at the corners
Face the ground until your hands have pressed you flat, taking care to ensure that no extraneous skin or flesh leaves the edges or exceeds the boundaries of the boat you are making
00_.Build a boat with twin hulls
One hull pointed EastOne hull pointed West
Now build a bodythat can sail this boat
Now find the windthat can carry us home [End Page 23]
00_.Now find the windthat can carry us home [End Page 24]
Divya Victor’s books include Natural Subjects, UNSUB, Things To Do With Your Mouth, Swift Taxidermies 1919-1922, and others. Her chapbooks include Hellocasts by Charles Reznikoff by Divya Victor by Vanessa Place and SUTURES. She lives in the United States and Singapore, where she is Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University.
