That's the way...

The air has grown cool and sharp, and the trees have all turned. The sun is bright though, remembering summer. I'm listening to Tom Waits's Black Rider as I work on job applications and my talks for Europe and Asia. He's perfect for a day like this-- macabre, funny, carnivalesque.

"So come on in
it ain't no sin
take off your skin
and dance around in your bones..."

I'm restless, but I can't go out because I'm waiting for a last-chance-before-it's-returned-to-sender parcel from my publisher. Just as well. I've got work out this paper. The hard part is figuring degree of context people already have for your work.

I feel trapped by the dialectic-- race radical vs. whitewashed liberal. Let me out!

"That's the way the stomach rumbles
That's the way the bee bumbles
That's the way the needle pricks
That's the way the glue sticks
That's the way the potato mashes
That's the way the pan flashes
That's the way the market crashes
That's the way the whip lashes
That's the way the teeth gnashes
That's the way the gravy stains
That's the way the moon wanes"