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Points of View:Talisman Airlines When I think about poetry, I often think of pockets. Places where we keep things we need—pockets hide things, yet they also keep them close to us. Poems tend to expose the hidden things we carry with us—emotional things. And poets often find the emotional in the mundane. like the contents of pockets, or purses. Pockets also hide the talismans we keep with us out of superstition, or to provide us comfort. Often, we have difficulty explaining to others why certain things carry such emotional weight, why when we empty the pockets of one pair of pants, those same contents end up in the next pair we wear. Separated from their owners, these things carry their own mystery. They illustrate choices made. The small choices that add up, that create a secret snapshot of a life. Who knows what power or meaning these things hold for these individuals? All we know is that one day, they were in a pocket or purse, and here they are, spilled out from their dark homes especially for us. Can they be arranged into something meaningful like words of magnetic poetry? What interests me beyond the formal i.d. cards are the more subtle forms of identification—the choice of stamps, pens, drugs, cigarettes, mints, the receipts, ticket stubs, sunglasses, the snatches of personal notes. What’s more revealing, a condom or a Subway coupon? It’s a medley of the unrehearsed, the spontaneous revealed. One pocket includes a boarding pass from Tajikistan Airlines. I want to read that as Talisman Airlines. These photocopies take me on a magical flight. Jim Daniels Ritual Practice: Great China Buffet In all likelihood, it doesn't matter much which picture you choose. You get pulled into the same two questions: Who is this? What is the story? If the first question looks for clues—male or female? young or old? work? geography? income?—the second question tries to link up the objects, as if we were a private detective hired in the opening chapter. It is too much effort to resist the urge. Two university students, Dustin and Matthew, maybe lovers, maybe not, visit the Warhol during Christmas break. One is from Boston, the other—the one with the car, the one who drove to the Warhol today—is from Allison Park, where his mother lives. She wants to make sure he comes back for a visit, at least for a meal where they ate when he was in high school and living at home. He'll come eventually—the Great China certificate is a good enough reason to go back in a few weeks, but that's his business. Condee
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