I know what the deer is

(This is the most recent piece in a project that begins here.)

— I forgot what it was like.
Hm?
— The clutter of things. A clutter.
I wait
— Different things, certainly.
Outside the clutter of rain in the air
Today I understand one thing more about my role
Do you want me to tell you?
— Hm?
What it is?
— It means something here. It doesn’t translate.
He tells me
It doesn’t translate
He looks at the words in the room
They’re alien and unfamiliar
Combinations of words that make no sense
Applied to objects for almost no reason
Empty words
— Not exactly, but I see what you mean.
I measure out the number of things I suspect I will be capable of during the day
I think on my passport of permission
Think about sight
Out in the small patch of lawn at the front, I hear it
And again
He sits with me and listens
Or at least I think he does, if he can hear it
He says something else and it doesn’t translate
Then,
— One thing joined to another, but it isn’t the same.
To which I agree
It isn’t the same