The Concept of Immediacy
I fell asleep with an idea, but when I woke up, I’d lost it,as when, approaching the rabbit on the trail,it took off into the brush.I followed, clearing the warblers,fixing their gaze.Ruining something felt like a reason to proceed.Looking out at the view—dense swaths of pine, the bay, all three bridgeshalf-submerged—I waited for a sign to go back, the mind saying enoughor what next or there’s nothing here.The rabbit had camouflaged itself with the undergrowth.I wondered if I figured in its sensory system.Two women came around the bend,one finishing a sentence: “… like, what I need.”I had been hearing that a lot lately.It wasn’t what I was thinking,but related, something about immediacy,how to experience it.In the moment of apprehension? Just before?Or in the lack thereof?I had a…
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The Paris Review (Digital) - 1 Issue, Winter 2023 (246)