works by william pham, 2005-present
A Scarecrow a Child a Man I will not die I will not die I will not die My suffering is a table it is black and lacquered wood or wood substitute purchased from a mail-order catalog and-- my suffering is insulated by styrofoam packing material and bubble wrap and once I have popped all of the bubbles between my fingers the novelty is lost, the novelty is gone: there is only the suffering and a pictorial instruction set and I cannot make sense of either; it is all a table or lack thereof. I will not die There is a termite inside of my body and I have compiled a list of names for it: Alexander, Alper, Alzheimer. Kennedy or Krabbe. There is a thing inside of me and it has a name-- the name is an index, the name is a dog-eared page in a medical reference, the name is a website the name is a network, a community. It is tagged appropriately. It is impossible. I will not die though you betray me I will not die though you betray me I will not die though you betray me Give me marrow, give me a new brain. I have the receipt for mine and I would like an exchange. It was defective upon arrival. There are damaged components. I demand restitution. I demand my money back. The customer is always right. Please help me Please help me Please help me You do not know my name because I do not know my name. I cannot remember what an orange popsicle tastes like and though their blood is in my blood I do not know my parents except for the thing inside my brain that like a seed was planted and cultivated by the cruelty of heredity. I am a child or I am an old man. I cannot remember. My suffering is a table. Give me a new brain -- Please help me
copyright (c) 2007 by william pham