Laika (1954-1957)

Adrian Sobol

In the time it takes to make bread, a wild pasture.Outside this thought, a song no longer than an inch.If there is light, it’s pressing down on you.Something stirs inside it.It is not so much lust you experience as it is its recurring engine.Boredom is not a new technology.It has no apparent safety valve.Recite that old line about cream rising.Top as operative verb.Verb being, in this instance, a hunger.You can laugh.Do it now, into this pinewood box, before the morning comes.Try to transcribe it.Be serious for extended periods of time.See how your wardrobe changes to match.Your uber has arrived.Half-sick you stumble out through the sidewalk.You recall asphalt but not its purpose.Where are you supposed to go.In the dark there is no knowing.Once, a tiny satellite circled the earth carrying a dog.There can be no word for a fear you cannot fathom.An infinite future tires you out.

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Adrian Sobol is a Polish immigrant / musician / poet. He is the author of The Life of the Party is Harder to Find Until You’re the Last One Around (Malarkey Books). He lives in Chicago.

cover of Bat City Review Issue 18

Issue 18

Austin, Texas

University of Texas at Austin

Managing Editor
Sarah Matthes

Founded in 2004, Bat City Review is a literary journal and community devoted to supporting emerging and established writers and artists. Dedicated to diversity of form, thought, and voice we publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art crafted with passion and precision—work that expands our imaginations and complicates our conversations; work willing to take risks, surprise, experiment, and play. Collaboratively edited by MFA candidates from the New Writers Project, Michener Center for Writers, and Studio Art; Bat City Review is generously supported by the University of Texas at Austin’s English Department and James A. Michener Center for Writers.

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