My Jandek Plague Journal: 5/31/20 "Can I Be With You"

"Can we walk around in the wonderland of the new place that we found/All flowers are in bloom/The placid river scintillates/Can I be with you/This time we have/All the people are around/Buildings and streetcars/We can be amongst it all/In the world that we share." America is on fire. Cops are rioting all over the country because one of their own has been arrested for murder. Cops are arriving at peaceful protests in riot gear and proceeding to cause fires, vandalism, and looting. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are both under curfew as are no doubt many other cities. But if police openly rioting after murdering someone on camera isn't enough of a threat to keep people from coming out to protest, how can they possibly enforce a curfew? The threats no longer work. And this is partly due to COVID. 25% unemployment means people have plenty of time to take to the streets and protests don't cost a penny. -5/31/20. "Can I Be With You" from Portland Thursday (lyrics) (one week earlier) (one week later)