For the happy man! - Collected writings DEPRESSION: Ed Atkins

ice-water) – entering the digestive system: PSYCHOPHAR-
MACOLOGICAL AGENTS. GRISTLE, similarly to every
word uttered mutely by these here pages, contains, within
its shifted, congealed state behind the eyeballs and so on – a
certain amount of SOMETHING SIMILAR to dimethyltryptamine
or some such analog. As with psilocybe or other
fungal manifestations (the closest similitude), GRISTLE (for
example) might be more common, or perhaps more effective,
according to the season, certain cosmic alignments, etc.
For instance, this month we’re in: the manifest effect of this
month we’re in upon the effect of the words you’re subsuming
will directly influence the texture of the tumour. Those
aforementioned rivu-
lets will trace a more
drunken path, will
steer a more wayward
path across the
sensitive outer of
the tumour. The
result will discern
the metaphori-
cal boundaries:
Aztec, Hound-
stooth, the mouth
of an angler
fish – these are
brought to mind
more readily
than, say, the fluid
cursive of a coin
toss. This is seasonal
and should be well
noted. In about half an hour, you’ll come up, and dependent
upon the height of the sun in the sky, the temperature of
the earth, the humidity levels, the alignment of the planets,
the amount of gamma rays suffusing the air, the contrast
and brightness of the ambient light levels, the duration of
the GREEN RAY as the sun DIPS (the lolling head of a CPR
dummy), the number of spawn that makes it to frog in the
dismal pond – if you can call it that – sat at the bottom of
the play area under the shade of that diseased walnut; the
alcohol content of the home brew – it might be horrific.
[...]