Уильям Берроуз - Nova Express

"What have I my friend to give you? — Identity fading out-dwindling-Female smells-knife in the heart-boy of dust gives no shelter-left no address"

"I'd ask alterations but really known them all-Closed if you wanted a Greek-I do not find The Hanged Man in the newspapers-blind eyes-see- Who walks beside you?" "Will you let me tell you lost sight a long time ago. Smell taste dust on the window. touch. touch?? How should I from remote landing dim jerky far away."

At dawn-Put on a clean shirt in another country- Soccer scores and KiKi give you? — Empty to the barrier — Shuttered dawn is far away-Bicycle races here in this boy were no relief-Long empty noon-Dead recordings-Moments I could describe that were his eyes in countries of the world-Left you these sick dawn bodies-Fading smiles-in other flesh-Far now-Such gives no shelter-Shifted the visiting address-The wind at noon-walks beside you?" Piece of a toy revolver there in nettles of the alley. over the empty broken streets a red white and blue kite.

(This section, first written in 1938 in collaboration with Kells Elvins who died in 1961, New York, was later cut back in with the "first cut-ups" of Brion Gysin as published in Minutes to Go .)

Captain Bairns was arrested today in the murder at sea of Chicago-He was The Last Great American to see things from the front and kept laughing during the dark-Fade out

S.S. America-Sea smooth as green glass-off Jersey Coast-An air-conditioned voice floats from microphones and ventilators-:

"Keep your seats everyone-There is no cause for alarm-There has been a little accident in the boiler room but everything is now/"

BLOOOMMM

Explosion splits the boat-The razor inside, sir-He jerked the handle-

A paretic named Perkins screams from his shattered wheelchair:

"You pithyathed thon of a bidth."

Second Class Passenger Barbara Cannon lay naked in First Class State Room-Stewart Hudson stepped to a porthole:

"Put on your clothes, honey," he said. "There's been an accident."

Doctor Benway, Ship's Doctor, drunkenly added two inches to a four-inch incision with one stroke of his scalpel-

"Perhaps the appendix is already out, doctor," the nurse said peering over his shoulder-"I saw a little scar- "

The appendix OUT! I'M taking the appendix out-What do you think doing here?"

"Perhaps the appendix is on the left side, doctor- That happens sometimes you know-"

"Stop breathing down my neck-I'm coming to that-Don't you think I know where an appendix is? — I studied appendectomy in 1910 at Harvard-" He lifted the abdominal wall and searched along the incision dropping ashes from his cigarette-

"And fetch me a new scalpel-This one has no edge to it"-

BLOOOMM

"Sew her up," he ordered-"I can't be expected to work under such conditions"-He swept instruments cocaine and morphine into his satchel and tilted out of The Operating Room-

Mrs. J. L. Bradshinkel, thrown out of bed by the explosion, sat up screaming: "I'm going right back to The Sheraton Carlton Hotel and call the Milwaukee Braves"-

Two Philippine maids hoisted her up-"Fetch my wig, Zalameda," she ordered. "I'm going straight to the captain-"

Mike B. Dweyer, Politician from Clayton Missouri, charged the First Class Lounge where the orchestra, high on nutmeg, weltered in their instruments-

"Play The Star Spangled Banner," he bellowed.

"You trying to corn somebody, Jack? — We got a union-"

Mike crossed to the jukebox, selected The Star Spangled Banner With Fats Terminal at The Electric Organ, and shoved home a handful of quarters-

Oh say can you seeeeeeeeee

The Captain sitting opposite Lucy Bradshinkel-He is shifty redhead with a face like blotched bone-

"I own this ship," The Lady said-

The deck tilted and her wig slipped over one ear- The Captain stood up with a revolver in his left hand — He snatched the wig and put it on-

"Give me that kimono," he ordered-

She ran to the porthole screaming for help like everyone else on the boat-Her head was outlined in the porthole-He fired-

"And now you God damned old fool, give me that kimona-"

I mean by the dawn's early light

Doctor Benway pushed through a crowd at the rail and boarded The First Life Boat-

"Are you all right?" he said seating himself among the women-"I'm the doctor."

The Captain stepped lightly down red carpeted stairs-In The Purser's Office a narrow-shouldered man was energetically shoving currency and jewels into a black suitcase-The Captain's revolver swung free of his brassiere and he fired twice-

By the rockets red glare

Radio Operator Finch mixed a bicarbonate of soda and belched into his hand-"SOS-URP-SOS-God damned captain's a brown artist-SOS-Off Jersey Coast-SOS-Might smell us-SOS-Son of a bitching crew-SOS-URP- Comrade Finch-SOS-Comrade in a pig's ass-SOS-SOS-SOS-URP-URPURP — "

The Captain stepped lightly into The Radio Room-Witnesses from a distance observed a roaring blast and a brilliant flash as The Operator was arrested-The Captain shoved the body aside and smashed the apparatus with a chair-

Ourflag was still there

The Captain stiff-armed an old lady and filled The First Life Boat-The boat was lowered jerkily by male passengers-Doctor Benway cast off-The crew pulled on the oars-The Captain patted his bulging suitcase absently and looked back at the ship-

Oh say do that star spangled banner yet wave

Time hiccoughs-Passengers fighting around Life Boat K9-It is the last boat that can be launched-Joe Sargant, Third Year Divinity student and MRA, slipped through the crowd and established Perkins in a seat at the bow-Perkins sits there chin drawn back eyes shining clutching a heavy butcher knife in his right hand

By the twilight's last gleamings

Hysterical waves from Second Class flood the deck-"Ladies first," screamed a big faced shoe clerk with long teeth-He grabbed a St. Louis matron and shoved her ahead of him-A wedge of shoe clerks formed behind — A shot rang and the matron fell The wedge scattered-A man with nautical uniform buttoned in the wrong holes carrying a World War 1 45 stepped into the last boat and covered the men at the launching ropes-

"Let this thing down," he ordered-The boat hit the water-A cry went up from the reeling deck-Bodies hurtled around the boat Heads bobbed in the green water-A hand reached out of the water and closed on the boat side-Spring-like Perkins brought down his knife-The hand slipped away-Finger stubs fell into the boat-Perkins worked feverishly cutting on all sides:

"Bathdarths-Thons of bidth-Bathdarth-thon bidth-Methodith Epithcopal God damn ith-"

O'er the land of the freeee

Barbara Cannon showed your reporter her souvenirs of the disaster: A life belt autographed by the crew and a severed human finger-

And the home of the brave

"I don't know," she said. "I feel sorta bad about this old finger."

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there

The cold heavy fluid settled in a mountain village of slate houses where time stops-Blue twilight-Place Of The Silence Addicts-They move in and corner SOS and take it away in lead bottles and sit there on the nod in slate houses-On The Cool Blue or The Cold Grey-leave a wake of yapping ventriloquist dummies — They just sit there in cool blocks of blue silence and the earth's crust undulates under their weight of Heavy Time and Heavy Money-The Blue Heavy Metal People Of Uranus-Heavy con men selling issues of fraudulent universe stock-It all goes back into SOS-[Solid Blue Silence.]