C4 antho - Chamber Four

Eupcaccia*
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by Angie Lee
from Witness
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*From Kobo Abe’s The Ark Sakura, trans. Juliet Winters Carpenter (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1988), 7-8. “[On this] Island (the insect’s native habitat), eupcaccia
is the word for “clock.” Half an inch long, the insect is of the order
Coleoptera, and has a stubby black body lined with vertical brown stripes. Its
only other distinguishing feature is its lack of legs, those appendages having atrophied
because the insect has no need to crawl about in search of food. It
thrives on a peculiar diet―its own feces. The idea of ingesting one’s own waste
products for nourishment sounds about as ill-advised as trying to start a fire
from ashes; the explanation lies, it seems, in the insect’s extremely slow rate of
consumption, which allows plenty of time for the replenishment of nutrients by
bacterial action. Using its round abdomen as a fulcrum, the eupcaccia pushes itself
around counterclockwise with its long, sturdy antennae, eating as it eliminates.
As a result, the excrement always lies in a perfect half-circle. It begins
ingesting at dawn and ceases at sunset, then sleeps till morning. Since its head
always points in the direction of the sun, it also functions as a timepiece.”
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The row of mailboxes in front of Tewa Trailer Park in
Tesuque, New Mexico, reads from left to right: W.C., Mr. &
Mrs. Chicken, Joy Vanderloo, T. J. Apodaca, Santi Chun-
Mogul, the Orcistas, Esquibels, Benscooters, Justice, and E.
Eagle. An “E-normous” and wholly intact spiderweb extends
from the plastic lip of W.C.’s receptacle and connects to the
corner of a cinder block several feet away. Shoved inside the
cinder block’s cool arches are the spider’s previous attempts
to conquer the distance, balled-up practice sessions of dry,
white discharge. At least a million fire ants roam the park,
slinging gravel, dead ants, and food. The surrounding yellowed
soil is stained with miles of their invisible language.
Sagebrush, chamisa, and other brittle-stemmed shrubs bend
upon contact and perfume the air, but otherwise the flora