today is the hottest it has ever been on earth. call it heat dome or the time before La Niña or the way the skin crackles on unripe fruit: I'm calling it the comments say, it's the coolest we'll ever be. swing between the lesser of two evils, Kamala and the coconut tree, transcribe it for the baby to sing you to death: Sweet Caroline! that humankind existed at great peril: at ease, soldier! but, prepare for war in three years: did you get the invite? trudge through the muck and ice and the sea above your knees to drop the reset WMD with a polite email signature: Regretfully, Best, Sincerely, Thank you, I'm devastated. they're making memes in the trenches that an artificial archeologist attempts to glean from our detritus in a millennia: the doom scrolls without you reading it. the mind wanders, the world spins. the punchline is: tomorrow will be the hottest it has ever been on earth.
This past Monday was the hottest day ever recorded on earth, and so was Sunday. Another poem I couldn’t not write.
I wanted to write about the cocaine sharks, but I wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t be depressing. I’d rather imagine that every niche meme I come across will somehow be preserved for some future reader who, unaware of our culture and language, will find it unintelligible. Combine that with eco- and war- and political-anxiety…oops, another doom-and-gloom poem!
Last night we watched No Country for Old Men, and for this piece, I stole the line: “My mind wanders.” Chris remembered that line is also in Garden State. I wonder who the first mind-wanderer was? Don’t tell me Zach Braff, please. Be for real.
How did you spend your hottest day on earth? I spent my Sunday at the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival becoming one with the amorphous crowd and basking in the sunshine after a morning of rolling thunderstorms. On Monday, I answered emails alone from the relative comfort of my air-con. Duality of man and all that jazz.
On the Substack horizon: another slide poem to close out the month, and I’m working on a new series of deep-dives into internet subcultures and phenomena (starting with my current obsession, the Brooks Falls bear cam…)
Thank you for reading,
<3 megan
Or if you’re an introvert, print this poem out, roast it at 400 degrees for 25mins, garnish with chili oil, and consume. Pair with peach soju or your favorite flavor of Olipop.
Had no clue about the excessive heat .. seemed like an average Summer day here in Southern CA .. holed up in the house wearing the least amount of clothes with a fan on me. I sometimes think heat is a relative measurement, but it’s obviously not.