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I AM VERY he says tilting into the room and stops. Happy

to see you man but I'm not

sure you're real. Tell me

you're real. 4NO looks at

him upside down then

unfolds from his

headstand. Bad night?

says 4NO. But Sad is

straying about the room

touching all the chairs one

by one. Chairs he says. I

missed you. His voice is

soft. His eyes drift off.

4NO watches him

fragilely. Every molecule

of Sad and Sad's bad

future is advancing

through 4NO's retinal

surface. Like perfect

works of art they form a

sparkling flood. They

saturate him and

confiscate the present

moment. He closes his

eyes against this

unbearable excess and

gathers his mind to a

point. It breaks through

the white. He opens his

eyes. At ease soldier he

says to Sad. Nobody's

here yet. I'm just

stretching. Sad smiles and

then forgets not to. The

smile stays on his face.

I AM VERY

Anne Carson

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