* Miriam J. Nahm * rest in peace * August 21, 1923 - November 17, 2010

for blueness

for Pentti Saarikoski

VIRTUAL

We were talking about philosophy. Gail says (my sister Gail, who’s quadriplegic), “a master’s from the school of velocity,” and then pauses to laugh, saying, between breaths, “wait! I’m laughing,” … so I wait, and then she whisper-shouts, “fool!” and we’re talking over Skype, so I yell, “what??” and she repeats, “pool!” and I think, “pool??” and repeat it back to her with a question mark in my voice and there’s more laughter, I have to wait a minute because she’s laying flat on her back and laughter takes the place of voice, so I wait and she utters “fool – a master’s from the fool of velocity!” and this is so crazy that I’m laughing, we’re both laughing. The line goes absolutely silent. There’s a six-hour time difference between us and the time difference is arbitrary but the laughter is real.

kinda blue