when i sent this little scrawl to the head of the line, i was unaware that greg had published an opus… for that i beg your forgiveness

by Jeremy—Aug 30, 01:32 PM

Opus Schmopus. Take it to Jehosaphat Humper.

by greg—Aug 30, 01:35 PM

Are you sure it’s not the mumps their crotches bulge with?

by greg—Aug 30, 09:38 PM

i’ve seen enough inguinal hernias working in my dad’s various medical campaings and community health centers to think i know what one looks like—even if it’s through a thin veil of twill, whether chino or denim. actually, i’ve never seen an inguinal hernia… only what one looks like on a fully pantalooned man

by Jeremy—Aug 30, 09:52 PM

my dad had a pair of hernia surgeries a couple of years ago. he said they swelled his abdomen up like a balloon.

by greg—Aug 30, 10:00 PM

were they epigastric or umbelical?

though, they could’ve been inguinal… and the intestines not have descended into the scrotum

by Jeremy—Aug 30, 10:04 PM

I think they were inguinal but undescended. He had the surgeries as prevention. But the surgeon got halfway through the arthroscopic, had a problem, and had to slice him open. He went under thinking he’d walk in a week; he hobbled instead for a month.

by greg—Aug 30, 10:12 PM

but this is much less about inguinal hernias than it is about images of death

what i don’t like about the poem is the shock of white hair… quite cliche, i must say…

and that, so far, i’ve only got the winos… i’ve left out the guy from the corner who walks to wendy’s two blocks away only to return to his perfectly functioning car and sit in it to read his newspaper and eat his mcdeal meal which he leaves piled up in his car and has such a collection of them that they keep him from seeing out the back or the passenger side of the car. and others who live in houses but still, at odd hours of the day wander the streets, with or without IHs, and despite their purposeful steps seem lonely and lost.

by Jeremy—Aug 30, 10:31 PM

and i know you knew that… hernia obsession is just one of your coping mechanisms

by Jeremy—Aug 31, 06:33 AM

You flatterer.

by greg—Aug 31, 06:37 AM