start with
the thought
that to start
with a thought
and allow the
pressure to think
of the thought
to dissolve
to let
the pressure
dissolve
this dissolving is
a solution
he writes
it is one
solution and
for now it
will do
it trails off
into the distance
and at the end
of the page
obsolescence
i read
what a beautiful
word
the gradual
process
of becoming
obsolete or
out-dated and
no longer
used
he says
things are
changing
too fast
to allow
for notions of
permanence
planned
obsolescence
i repeat
the words
and i know
he is not
speaking
about how
the term
was first used
to explain
the sudden
loss
of the value of
skyscrapers
as the new
and the better
continue
to out-compete
the old
the calculated
average
architectural
lifespan
of buildings
to give a rough
estimate
for their
impending
obsolescence
on the horizon
or in the air
as it were
which due
to their
ever-changing
functions and
tastes
it is believed that
hotels will
become
obsolescent
faster than
banks
but i think
he meant
something else
words written
only
in lower case
letters
for aesthetic
reasons
he says
it is very beautiful
and
anti-hierarchical
it’s horizontal
thinking
one long
continuous
line or
a thought
that dissolves
into the distance
one word brings
the next
and it goes on
like this
holding on
to nothing
to no thing
no body
she brought
her dog in
it was lying
under the table
or under her
chair all day
she said
that writing
started with
the big bang
and so then
reading too
i cannot
imagine one
without
the other
i am
writing
no reading
it is two
sides of the
same coin
and
somewhere
in between
i am
listening
for a
silence
perhaps
or for
something else
it brings me
closer to
a place
where i can
think feel listen
and change
for a moment
how things are
until
like it or not
there comes a
point where
the line
or the thought
ends
not because
it’s finished
it’s not
so i hold on
with fear
and trembling
like king kong
i couldn’t resist
the high rise
and fall
this is not
a place to meet
without losing
each other
i tremble
as if
there would be
a salvation
utopia is
not a dream
he says
it is what
we are
missing
in the world
and i hold on
to that
which is
missing
one lives
in hope
the other
in memory
more or less
possible
more or less
liveable
building up
a world
word by word
one
on top of
the other
in order to
keep us there
on hold
for a little
longer
how much
longer
i don’t know
until it
dissolves
into nothing
and that’s
a good place
to start from
nothing
i draw a line
which is
not a line
it’s more
like a thread
and then
replace thread
with pencil
and i follow
and work
my way
down
i feel the
gravitational
pull of
the pencil to
the paper
so to speak
in the legend
it’s a thread
in reality
something else
a thought
perhaps
or a pencil
and it goes on
like this
the gradual
process
of becoming
obsolete or
just simply
used up
like the pencil
for example
as the text
gets longer
the pencil gets
shorter
until there’s
hardly
anything left
to hold
or to write with
planned
obsolescence
can this be
what he meant
tools
and machines
or technology
descriptions
passages
imagine entire
pages
or paragraphs
paper
memory
he says
he wants to
start from
the idea that
everything exists
already
that it’s an act
of resistance
everything is
in connection to
everything else
and what we
cannot
understand is
what links us
together
standards
protocols
advice
proposals
plans
programs
paradigms
keys
qualities
behaviour
contracts
ideas
beliefs
convictions
understanding
distance
i pick up
the thread and
write
it down
on a piece
of paper
how much
longer
not much
just this
one thought
in mid-air
and
it trails off
into the distance
at the end
of the page
text by
mette edvardsen
with reference to
a poem by
nick piombino
vinciane despret
a conversation
between
nora joung and
jean-michel wicker
and agnès b
speaking about
édouard glissant