May 3, 2013

Elevated and strange dreams. We were newly-born gods, or gods newly made from ordinary men. We stood in our Valinor and tried to perceive what the rules of our new lives would be, what actions would be necessary to us, what actions forbidden. What were the stories our creatures would tell of us? We were very careful, and when we actually began to move about and do things, we found that our plans were working. When we descended onto the earth, the place where we alit was Ryder Road in Hiram, between the cemetery and the Amish cornfields, as they were once.

Humanities exam yesterday, with the one girl who writes an hour after everyone else has left. I have to leave the room to subvert my rage. I said something to her the last time and she descended into sobs. The exam scores were colossally bad, and I can’t figure out why. They passed in their notes, and all the answers were there. They had at least heard and once recorded the necessary facts. How do they study? Their comments about me are favorable, except twice I am called an old man.

Golden tree peonies form a firmament. Windows shut against spring cold.