Two of Me, in Paris in the The

(A New Autotelism IX)

"Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)"

—Walt Whitman

Our transparent eyeball, a metaphysical camera, is in orbit looking down on the watery sphere. Somewhere, deep inside, the crew of the submarine continues to explore and argue. From out here, there is little we can do to help them; so far away, the whole ocean is glittering and featureless.

Almost featureless. There is a single aberration — a speck of dry rocky land.

Even while I still tap restlessly against the glass of the submarine's porthole, there is another figure, who, if he is not me, uses my body. He is ghostly and ill-defined, fading in and out; he stands on the shore of that lonely island. Beneath him a massive volcano is hiding, but only a few square yards is consistently above the waves.

From where that me stands, he can see to the horizon, but can also touch the waves. He appears to see us, and mouths something calmly; he cannot be heard above the waves.

There is a rumbling in the distance; a great rushing of water bears down on the suddenly tiny figure. Wearing my face, he does not seem concerned. The camera flees.

It is a tidal wave made of the things I know about Paris.

parisisinfranceparisisacitypariscontainstheeiffeltowerpariscon
tainsthelourvepariscontainsthearcdetriumphepariscontainsthechampsellyseparisisacenteroffas
hionparisiansspeakfrenchparisisthecapitaloffranceparisisineuropeparisisthecityoflightsparisheldaworld'sfairparisis
hometoartisitsparisishometoexpatriotsparisisbuiltonariverparisiansworklessparisisthesettingforlesmiserablesparisist
hesettingofthefrenchrevolutionparisisthesettingofanamericaninparisparisisincoleporter's"alwaystruetoyoudarlin..."pari
sisthesettingofpartofcasablancaparisispoweredbyelectricitypariswasoncelitbygaspariscontainsbicyclespariscontainsp
eopleparisendsinerisparisispronouncedpaireeparisisfamousforfoodparisisfamousforsaucesparisisfamousforthee
iffeltowerparisisfamousforthelouvreparisisthesettingforthedavincicodepariscontainsbuildingsparisconta
inscatspariswashometotalouselatrecpariswashometomonetpariswashometogeo
rgeseuratparisisthesettingofsundayintheparkwithgeorgeparisisfamous
formimesparisisfamousforpeopleinstripedshirtsandber
etsparishastrafficcirclesparishaspublicsquaresp
arishasmanysewersparishasratsparishasb
arsparisisfamousforservingwineparisi
sfamousforcafesparisisfamousforp
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orbaguettesparisisland-locked
parisisintheillusionparisinthe
thespringparissharesitsnam
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Think about the number of events in your life. The number of things you know, that you feel and have felt, that you think and have thought. How can you bear the weight?