<p> the gas line is leaking, the bird is gone from the <br> cage, the skyline is dotted with vultures;<br> Benny finally got off the stuff and Betty now has a job<br> as a waitress; and<br> the chimney sweep was quite delicate as he<br> giggled up through the <br> soot.<br> I walked miles through the city and recognized<br> nothing as a giant claw ate at my <br> stomach while the inside of my head felt <br> airy as if I was about to go <br> mad.<br> it?s not so much that nothing means <br> anything but more that it keeps meaning<br> nothing,<br> there?s no release, just gurus and self-<br> appointed gods and hucksters.<br> the more people say, the less there is to say.<br> even the best books are dry sawdust. </p> <p> —from "fingernails; nostrils; shoelaces" </p>