jj jackman in the midst of seven - index
trodden underneath the feet of men 11/30/99 trodden underneath the feet of men and ladies too as i looked out of the bar room window onto the sidewalk the closest traces of his remains were small piles of torn and bloody cloth hammered into right angles and a muddy shallow crimson pool with tributaries small bone fragments surrounded by white powder were scattered here and there still being dispersed by slower paces in paused refrains not so, earlier, but now each Times Square ambler free from prior hustling frenzy could reflect upon his or her small contribution to the overall process but step by step their walk could not be delayed during the lunch hour and with the pressure from the faster moving walkers on the sides rushing by the little hills and mounds, the chest and pelvis, and the skull were soon leveled down by pedestrians trudging forward from within the traffic horns and city noise did mask the crunching sound and flesh applied like plating was stretched thin upon the ground on slippery surface fallers could not drop ushered ahead by the mass some annoyed later at the office by bloodstained pant leg cuffs stumbled onward all the quicker flustered by the gushy mess below later the pigeons in sparse position with red drops dripping from their beaks were liking the idea trodden underneath the feet of men i viewed him there and what was left not much i felt the pain so sharp and hard like hail not rain trodden underneath the feet of men and ladies too it must of happened oh so fast and i’m surmising all of this i wasn’t there i see them as the legs of a scintillating giant centipede are the legs to blame? or are they not commanded by a central brain, oh! though quite small! like the brain in the stegosaurus foot trodden underneath the feet of men feet devoid of any brain at all and with variously shaped foot gear and heels like wooden daggers and flat rubbery ones too trodden under the feet of men and like an impressionist painting or a detective’s chalk outline as evaporation takes its course now will this tint on concrete last? i felt indignant i knew if i were there even for a short split second i would have stopped this mad stampede i would have shouted and placing my arms so wide abreast with shock adrenaline power i would have pushed against that forward flow but i guess that’s what he did right before he was trodden underneath the feet of men and ladies too and now at a square highly lacquered table against the window in this dimly lit bar room i view this scene as darkness edges in from outside too, i was privy to my fate today trodden underneath the feet of men now i know why they told me not to go against the crowd when i was a kid! yeah it sure seemed right to me back then to antagonize the gang and i guess my family really loved me when they said: “it’s o.k. to go along with the herd once in a while”!! trodden underneath the feet of men maybe, yeah, for sure i don’t know when trodden underneath the feet of men i viewed him there and what was left not much i felt the pain so sharp and hard like hail not rain hey jay can i get you some beef i’m goin’ up agen some more pizza? look i know the wings are too messy! hey what the hell are you staring at so what if the drafts are five bucks the buffet’s free tonight! what the hell are you staring at, man!