In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

36 Punch Drunk Love —after the movie A loner, prone to fits of rage, he lies on top, his nose an inch away from hers, says, “I want to smash your face, it’s so pretty I want to smash it with a sledge hammer.” There’s a long pause. Her eyes searching as if to reach inside him. And I’m afraid of what she’ll find, until I realize she heard it as Your face is unbearably pretty. I’m scared of of the way it makes me feel. I watch his reaction when she says “I want to scoop out your eyes and eat them.” How he hears I love the way I see myself in you, I want that inside me. They kiss like ice cubes melting in Scotch, and I remember what it means to be invisible, wandering the city, an outsider even my mother never knew. I walk down Grand River Avenue along the Redford cemetery, a ghost who cannot hide the scent that stray dogs chase, the mix of fear and tough from tramping in wilderness too big to mark. In the movie they’re drawn to each other like plastic kissing dolls— as if each had been looking for the other without knowing—and I see myself — heart with the teeth of a dog that never means to bite. ...

Share