{"id":13638,"date":"2017-04-05T00:01:38","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T05:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/?p=13638"},"modified":"2017-04-05T00:30:29","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T05:30:29","slug":"something-like-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/archives\/13638","title":{"rendered":"Something Like Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Us backwoods kids were taught early to harness the light;
\ntrapping fireflies in jars, stabbing lids with screwdrivers.
\n_________________________<\/span>Because mercy can be letting something breathe.
\nAnd we all remember the first time we were old enough
\n____________<\/span>to light the fireworks ourselves.
\n_________________________<\/span>When we learned how light brings faces skyward.
\nBut trapping the night is trickier. There is more to the secret; something like dark
\n_______<\/span>that can chase you up the stairs at night, make spots in your photographs.
\n_____________________________________________<\/span>Something that makes noises
\n__________________________________________________________<\/span>you\u2019ve never
\n__________________________________________________________<\/span>heard before.
\nAnd so, when the greyfolks on the old farms run out of plates to shoot,
\nor light to see the plates, floodlights burnt out or broken or cut-off,
\n___________________<\/span>they hunt down their tackleboxes and poles,
\n____________________________________________<\/span>and go bat-fishing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an evil sport, like soothsaying. Begging the dark to tell you something.
\nThe closer you are to the night, the more it understands you. The closer you get
\n_________________________________________________________<\/span>to catching it.
\nIt\u2019s like fly-fishing: Use a light hook and the strongest line you\u2019ve got.
\nI\u2019ve heard of a paperclip and bubble-gum, but these guys are liars.
\nWhip it around a bit. Make the night think the hook is something with wings.
\n_______________________________________<\/span>When you catch one, you\u2019ll know.
\n_______________________________________<\/span>Reel it in. Prepare for a fight.
\n___________________________<\/span>You should at least have some gloves on.
\n_______<\/span>It should sound like teeth.
\n_______<\/span>Like flags made of leather. _______<\/span>Some scientists suspect eating bats causes
\n_____________________________________<\/span>diseases we haven\u2019t found causes for.
\nThe meat is tough, and in such small portions. So give it back.<\/p>\n

Cousins. Primates.
\nWe evolved from bats.
\n_________________________<\/span>Born from dark birds that live in the dirt.
\n_______________________________________________<\/span>Dark birds with teeth.
\nYou hold the beast in your right hand, part its jaws with your finger and thumb.
\n_____________<\/span>With the left hand, go into the mouth,
\n_____________<\/span>slip the hook out with a flick of the wrist like striking a match.
\n_____________<\/span>Toss it back to the night. Watch the black dissolve.
\n____________________<\/span>Show mercy to the darkness
\n____________________<\/span>that has shown you none.<\/p>\n

You can bear to part with it.<\/p>\n

Michael Hurley<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Us backwoods kids were taught early to harness the light; trapping fireflies in jars, stabbing lids with screwdrivers. _________________________Because mercy can be letting something breathe. And we all remember the first time we were old enough ____________to light the fireworks ourselves. _________________________When we learned how light brings faces skyward. But trapping the night is trickier. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":647,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[52],"tags":[25],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Jypy-3xY","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/647"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13638"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13708,"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13638\/revisions\/13708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp0.vanderbilt.edu\/nashvillereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}