paula harris

The Reverse Law of Rebuilding a Relationship

Maybe if I change enough laws and conventions that keep the earth turning,
we can be us again.

I change the development of Arabic numerals
so that 3+3=1.

I make “hello” mean “yes”
and “goodbye” mean “I’m sorry”.

I move penguins to the North Pole
and polar bears to the South Pole.

I convince fruit to turn to flowers
to turn to buds to turn to possibilities.

I rewrite history so that the Vikings won at Stamford Bridge
and we speak Norse (even though you and I aren’t speaking).

I make dirt white, water pink
and grass grey.

I tear up the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics,
throwing it out the window so that it can fall up to the sky.

Gravity is pointless
and no one really cares about thermodynamics anyway.

how to die in 206 days

do not forgive your enemies. watch your favourite 
movies. write letters to the people you want to say 
goodbye to. have great sex as much as you can. watch 
every sunset. watch every unusual cloud formation. create 
more unusual cloud formations yourself. kiss your
lover repeatedly. kiss anyone you want to kiss (if they 
consent). sort through the files in your office and get rid 
of those no one else will need. have everything your 
accountant needs organised and clearly labelled. dance 
whenever you hear a song that you want to
dance to. check the regulations on disposal of 
cremains. put fertiliser around the drip line of the 
trees. try to write every poem you have left in you. flirt 
outrageously. watch silly shows that make you laugh. 
create labelled stacks of books and artworks and
those things that make you light inside, and which 
you want others to have. wash the dishes. remove 
yourself from all mailing lists. put out the 
recycling. breathe.