Hang In There

What never to say? Hang in there. She thinks of Freud. I think of Thek. The end of life paintings. A picture of the thin white duke on hands and knees in a tailored suit. Religion for people who fear hell, spirituality for people who’ve survived it. Straining to define it. Do totems work? Under a tin fleur-de-lis ceiling— royalty, purity and light. A birth right. A drop ceiling is a sordid ceiling, isn’t it? In church basements, in doctor and dentist offices ceilings undyingly drop. You can’t slacken under a dropping ceiling. You can’t sleep like a baby. Wild-eyed, keep me safe. Do you believe in epigenetics? Design a mobile to hang above a child’s crib. Close eyes, decorate.