WEBVTT

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The next poem, on page
three, is called "October."

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And it's about sort of being
disappointed in October when

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the leaves fall.

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I'm from New England.

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And New England is very
proud of its fall foliage.

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But somehow, the speaker here
is disappointed by the leaves,

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because they do not
fall far enough.

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Actually, I'm not the only one
to feel this disappointment.

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Rilke has a famous
poem about the leaves

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are falling from far, far
away, as though from gardens up

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in the sky.

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It's the same kind of poem.

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Both Rilke and I
are disappointed

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that the leaves are only
falling from the trees.

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We want them to fall from
somewhere farther away.

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So well, I take matters
into my own hands

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here, because they
don't fall far enough.

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So you'll see the
plot as we go through.

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October.

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The leaves fall, but
not far enough for me.

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So I take one up to the top
of my favorite high-rise,

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the one whose TV
transmitters watch farmers.

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Out over the roof
edge, I drop it.

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But my eye swerves to the
hemline of a nearby tourist.

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I wonder if anyone
will notice it.

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The wind is certain to
vacillate its journey.

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A vacillation is a
vagueness with intent.

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And my leaf is light.

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And has her camera
caught me in the act,

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prolonging it even further?

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Her blouse blows.

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But now I prefer most how she
caresses the camera fondly,

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a personal touch placed on what
is, after all, a mere automaton

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winking a robot eye.

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Hmm-- H-M-M. Are
mechanisms, like, say,

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money or credit cards--

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are they harder to
put one's traits

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on than a flower, for
instance, or an ear of corn?

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For example, I know someone
who has a $5 bill taped up

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on their wall with the name
Frank Sinatra scribbled

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across it-- an autograph,
according to them.

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But is writing or forging your
name on money or on a machine--

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does a signature make
it more human, natural,

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leafier somehow?

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Hell, money is not
a good example.

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It's not mechanic.

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I'm sorry.

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Damn.

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Back on the track.

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The leaf-- back on the track.

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The leaf falls.

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The farmers farm.

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And the tourist films till her
camera's involuntary functions

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are exhausted.

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We head back down.

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The elevator control panel
blinks like a flight deck,

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or star tech, or something.

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Then I notice buttons
on her skirt front.

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I punch all the buttons
on my shirt front,

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not knowing which
direction that will get me,

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yet suspecting that it too
will not be far enough.

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[APPLAUSE]

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