About 25 minutes to 12 I was in Regents Park last night and I saw the prisoner and a young lad standing up against the railings of the square. I stood looking at them for about 5 minutes, about 18 yards off. A female (?) and they moved away. They came back to the same place again where they stood before and I got within 10 yards off. The prisoner had a black leather bag in his hand and he put that down and unbuttoned his trousers and I saw his person (?) He caught hold of the lad and he got the (?) him. I went ?across? but I could not get quite close to them, they went away. I caught the boy afterwards. I took the prisoner. I told him it was for indecent behaviour in the square. He said nothing then on the way to the station "I am sorry for it". He was there with his person exposed quite 5 minutes and during that time he was (?) the young man. There was light enough to see what I have stated.
Prisoner got hold of me last night down (?) St and asked me if I would take a note into Regent's Square for him. He showed me the note and asked if I would take it for him. I said "no" but he took me by the arm and took me to Regent's Square against the railings.. He undid his coat then he undid his trousers and asked me if I would do it for him. I said "no". He asked me to put my hand on his
cock penis. I did not do so. He wanted to undo my trousers. He tried to undo them but I would not let him. He did not say that he wanted to undo them. He tried to put his hand inside my trousers behind. he did not say why. I asked him what he wanted to do but he would not tell me. He (?) me twice and put his arm 'round me and would not let go of me. The Constable caught me and I told him what had happened. I never saw the prisoner before. It was against my wish that he tried to undo my trousers.
"What are you doing?"
"Wha - oh I'm - uh - pizza? My friend is - [flaps right hand at something, appears confused]
Can I have a cigarette?"
"I don't smoke"
"Oh - wh- ?[frowns]"
"So - I'm looking for business, that hotel there.[points] How much?"
"I don ... [asks passing woman for a cigarette, smiles]
"How old are you?"
"
18 [frowns]
19? ... 15? you want? - uh - I'm waiting for something like - give me 10 minutes OK - then I could - uh ?"
"I'm taking you in [grasps hold of left elbow]"
"You can't - I'm - uh - allowed to be here, my friend is (?) -
shit. I'm not on your
fucking list you know"
don't tell me my comment was eaten again?for the second time?
ReplyDeleteyes, yes it was.fuck.it keeps getting smaller and smaller: thank you for the inspiration, you're one of the rare occasions that stimulate my imagination.I said i love the ? and how they either give off the impression that the reader is free to fill in the gaps or how it could be you trying to transcribe a dream, with bits and pieces of it being erased or already missing with every waking moment.
ReplyDeleteI also said that yur writing is wistful and beautiful and reminiscent of sth i can't quite figure out. Like i've been there or have dreamt about it.
Thank you.
i'm sorry abt the ate stuff. the '?'s in the 1st section - are indicative of a word i couldn't read in the original document, or in the 2nd section of replicating that in an entirely imaginary document - like memory is difficult arcane handwriting, or something xx
ReplyDeletei love you
ReplyDeletelow blood sugar?
ReplyDeleteKind of reminded me of, I dunno, Lost Highway? The way the second paragraph repeats the events of the first. As if the narrator slipped from the Constable into the boy. Or as if remembering the first time around, the boy had projected himself into the rescuing/threatening authority figure to avoid the humiliating memory, and only by repeating the story can slowly approach what really happened. (I tend to slip into a generic you-form when recounting something painful, trying to push off the pain onto my listener.)
ReplyDeleteAlso the parentheses and question marks - what you said about translating a document, I used to translate stuff for the uncle of a friend, and that was how my first drafts often looked like.
Again, so many delicious questions open. Why is it a prisoner? Of his lust? Escaped from prison? On leave? Leaving prison, tasting freedom, it makes you unbelievably horny. You feel like you have to get some right then and there.
Okay, I'm rambling. Sorry. It's just. So few words and you have me standing there in nightly London, dark and rainy, and lost as them. Floored alright! Kudos!
the first section is a modified transcript of a police court record from the 1870s - hence the use of the term 'prisoner'
ReplyDeletethe second section is a modern example of something similar, transposed to the same place.
they're from an abandoned walk thing