in Nuar Alsadir’s book Animal Joy, she references the poem Small Sentence to Drive Yourself Sane by Lew Welch
The next time you are doing something absolutely ordinary, or even better
the next time you are doing something absolutely necessary, such as pissing, or making love, or shaving, or washing the dishes or the baby or yourself or the room, say to yourself:
“So it’s all come to this!”
i tried it several times this week. i told people about it. i love it. it brought the laughter of recognition, which may also be the laughter of relief.
as very loud techno remix music blasts from the neighbors yard and i clack clack clack on the bed i tried it again, and it worked.
there’s something about this kind of acknowledgment that’s kind of like a wink, that’s kind of like saying i see you—you’re not pulling one over on me, we’re tussling now. you look around and throw your hands up—in exasperation or defeat. same way you throw them up in celebration or triumph. in any case, the willingness to throw them up is what makes us available for the dance.