‘presto’
— Joyce Chong
as the saying
goes / fool me once / shame
on you / fool me twice
& this is how love
works
The newest and inaugural issue of Underblong has brought us so much wonderful work from an array of talented writers. I found myself drawn to the tone and imagery of Patrick Kindig’s ‘Presto’ and its interest in distraction, and the act of misdirection. Its analogy of love being like an illusion, a trick, really holds for me. To be in love is to be fooled, to be held by the theatrics, and to let the distraction take you where it will. The poem itself becomes involved in the act, becomes spectacle:
but hey / see how long
this string of scarves
is / how fat this rabbit
But only watches from afar. You are not audience or actor, but something inbetween. Not in on the secrets, and the tricks aren’t meant for you, really. There is a tinge of melancholy in the last line, the calm after the chaos, the lingering sensation that this was all a moot point.
this is what everyone comes for
anyway / the moment
it’s revealed that nothing’s
happened
The aftertaste of time skipping like a record, but no one really noticing. The momentary thought that maybe you should keep your eyes peeled, or else next time you’ll miss it.