WEBVTT

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The Colonel.

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What you have heard is true.

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I was in his house.

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His wife carried a tray
of coffee and sugar.

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His daughter filed her nails.

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His son went out for the night.

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There were daily papers, pet
dogs, a pistol on a cushion

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beside him.

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The moon swung bare on its
black cord over the house.

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On the television
was a cop show.

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It was in English.

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Broken bottles were embedded
in the walls around the house

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to scoop the kneecaps
from a man's legs

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or cut his hands to lace.

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On the windows
there were gratings

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like those in liquor stores.

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We had dinner, rack
of lamb, good wine,

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a gold bell was on the
table for calling the maid.

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The maid brought green
mangoes, salt, a type of bread.

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I was asked how I
enjoyed the country.

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There was a brief
commercial in Spanish.

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His wife took everything away.

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There was some talk
then of how difficult

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it had become to govern.

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The parrot said,
hello, on the terrace.

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The Colonel told it to
shut up and pushed himself

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from the table.

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My friend said to me with
his eyes, say nothing.

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The Colonel returned with a sack
used to bring groceries home.

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He spilled many human
ears on the table.

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They were like
dried peach halves.

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There is no other
way to say this.

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He took one of them in his
hands, shook it in our faces,

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dropped it into a water glass.

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It came alive there.

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I am tired of fooling
around, he said,

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as for the rights of
anyone, tell your people

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they can go fuck themselves.

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He swept the ears to
the floor with his arm

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and held the last of
his wine in the air.

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Something for your
poetry no, he said.

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Some of the ears on the floor
caught this scrap of his voice.

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Some of the ears on the floor
were pressed to the ground.

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San Salvador, May 1978.

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