tarek chemaly
three books
2009
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\_getting the news
  from poems
\_Archewallogy
\_Jnune 7 – 2009
\_earlier writings
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o-----////()/---[getting the news from poems]------(| Tarek Chemaly · 2009 |)------¬ contents
Catcher in the Rhyme 2005

Later that same day

All comic trips start with “Later that same day”,
As if everything that preceded it simply was nothing but a prelude for what
was going to happen on that “second”,
Or rather on that “first”,
Nothing is to be initiated at that moment,
But everything will have to be a follow-up for what came first “earlier that
same day”.

Everything revolves around one day, insulated from the rest of the calendar,
Ascepticized from the rest of the weeks and months that came before it or
will precede.

Later, it is always later,
Nothing is sooner,
The epitome of differed gratification,
The propaganda of the tomorrows,
The promise of the upcoming,
The hope of the masses.

And what do action heroes and villains do earlier during the day?
Do they just hang around and wait till it becomes later that day so that the
action heats up and car chases begin?
Earlier in the day is just a fantasy, heroes unbutton their caps, have breakfast
and do all the mundane stuff they never seem to do as superheroes and vil-
lains,
Maybe they go to the bathroom earlier in the day.

Notice that superheroes never seem to need to go the bathroom?
Which is good news honestly considering that they are wearing their under-
wear above their pants,
It is difficult to take off the underwear first you know,
And then the whole suit in order to go to the bathroom.

Are superheroes’ pants equipped with flies or buttons?
But they needn’t worry if their fly is open or their buttons are down,
After all, they are wearing their underwear above it.

No one ever said “hey, Batman, your fly is open”,
And no one said “Hey Superman, stop thinking about Lois because your
underwear is crusty with sperm traces”,
Do they wear another underwear under the pants whose purposes are - like
those worn by the rest of us mortals - basic in function?
You know, function such as causing rashes due to friction particularly at the
pelvic joints,
Or to sustain sperm and urine marks,
And occasionally skid marks from the rear.

Such underwear if it exists is definitely a boxer and not brief,
I know so because Captain America never seemed to have a problem adjust-
ing it to prevent the previously mentioned rashes,
Batman never told Robin “Are you ever annoyed by your brief’s waistband
when you are fighting villains?”
Of course, he never also asked him “Are you ever annoyed by your boxer’s
waistband when you are fighting villains?”
But then again, we will never know, because most likely they wore it “earlier
that same day” a period of the day which,
Does not exist per se and only depends on whatever happens “later that same
day” to take shape and be accounted for.

Earlier that same day, they slept,
Overslept,
And just wasted time till it became later that same day.

That same day into which they are trapped,
That never ends,
Earlier that same day, they all die,
They all die,
And there is no later that same day,
Because they were all busy dying,
And their blood dying their underwear in red.
104

Tarek Chemaly, “Later that same day”, getting the news from poems (2009), p. 104.

Tarek Chemaly’s three books of 2009, published on 111101 with the author’s permission. getting the news from poems: layout Mike Awad. Archewallogy: design Farah Samman, cover Ashekman. Jnune 7 – 2009: with Rami El Khoury, Upstairs Publishing; photographs as credited on each page.