Practical Observations
Rick Moody

Candor obliges me to confess that I have
Frequently failed
An African will start if you touch him,
But to make a Muscovite feel you must
Scorch him

I do not deny that the brain may become the seat of disease
I am mostly quiet when with other people
For the last day or two the bowels had been regular
And the child died

Remove the cause and the effect will cease --
Convulsions are always to be regarded with apprehension
Foaming at the mouth, protrusion of the tongue,
Staring of the eyes
A refreshing sleep succeeds the attack

Nothing can be more prejudicial to children,
Particularly those of a delicate habit,
Than permission of remaining from bed
Till a late hour

To manage the use of opium is by no means
An easy task:
Something must be left to the discrimination of
The practitioner,
Which includes social anxiety, an absence of close friends,
And constricted affect

Like facial attractiveness or wealth,
Emotionally demanding tasks
Are selectively impaired;
People sometimes comment on my unusual mannerisms.


(Quotations from John North, Caroline H. Bowman & Oliver Turnbull.)