The determinist is hardat work. He is writing

a book—insidewill be found

a descriptionupon descriptionsof a going

always inside

out. This is howsentences, it will say,

outrun themselves—for instances, a woman runsinto now. What she passesplaces

her in needof a thing

greater thancan be

and sheherself flees

the momentshe steps inside

the mazeof it.

The determinist’s book will bea hard one to close.

●

The determinist walks downthe street. The deterministbuys a paper. The deterministlooks at a woman.An event like anyother begins to be

no event at all.A woman isin the house A woman isin the bedroom. A woman isin the bed. A state of affairslike any other

begins to be

another stateof affairs.

The face of it allcomes to a halt.

We blushwhere it might have

kept going.

●

The determinist fallsasleep at his desk. He has beenthinking all day. He has been thinkingof the woman who will appear

in his book. It is late, much too lateto be at one’s desk. Others havegone home. The determinist isby himself, at his desk, dreamingof the woman who will appear

somewhere in his book.He can dream this simplybecause a woman once stoodstill by his side, simplybecause things run their course, simplybecause his dreaming must be

otherwise.

The deterministawakens to an alarming

thought—an unlikelihood,sure, but now

that he is awakeit is certain

he must leavethings as they are

that instant.

●

There is one day anotherday on which the determinist

is found dead. His deathis an ordinary affair, says

the woman who appears

inside his book. She continuesas if a she were a thing running

off course:

People enacttheir accidents.Emergency without

what went wrong

is the poolof blood reflecting

the course of events.The sirens make sense

of noise. Things goright and then

the chanceto die on time

is saved for later.

Much later she adds:

The threat of thingshappening as they should.

The world accomplishes itself.Its efficiency lets usgo—

the hum and must follow—

Her descriptionis that of a hard woman

to shut up insidea book. A hard

woman to keepclose.

___Michael Trocchia’s work appeared recently in Asheville Poetry Review, Mid-American Review, and The Dirty Napkin. He recently received a grant from The Arts Council of the Valley for his stage adaptation and upcoming production of Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel.” He lives in Virginia, where he teaches philosophy part-time at James Madison University.