Monologue for an Onion

    I don't mean to make you cry.

    I mean nothing， but this has not kept you

    From peeling away my body， layer by layer，

    The tears clouding your eyes as the table fills

    With husks， cut flesh， all the debris¹ of pursuit.

    Poor deluded² human： you seek my heart.

    Hunt all you want. Beneath each skin of mine

    Lies another skin： I am pure onion——pure union

    Of outside and in， surface and secret core.

    Look at you， chopping and weeping. Idiot.

    Is this the way you go through life， your mind

    A stopless knife， driven by your fantasy of truth，

    Of lasting³ union——slashing away skin after skin

    From things， ruin and tears your only signs

    Of progress？ Enough is enough.

    You must not grieve that the world is glimpsed

    Through veils. How else can it be seen？

    How will you rip away the veil of the eye， the veil

    That you are， you who want to grasp the heart

    Of things， hungry to know where meaning

    Lies. Taste what you hold in your hands： onion-juice，

    Yellow peels， my stinging shreds⁴. You are the one

    In pieces. Whatever you meant to love， in meaning to

    You changed yourself： you are not who you are，

    Your soul cut moment to moment by a blade

    Of fresh desire， the ground sown with abandoned skins.

    And at your inmost circle， what？ A core that is

    Not one. Poor fool， you are divided at the heart，

    Lost in its maze⁵ of chambers⁶， blood， and love，

    A heart that will one day beat you to death.