I traveled to an island. There was a window from which I could only see the sea. The sheets smelled of something sour and clean. I swam. I ate apricot jam and paccheri with pieces of branzino. I took photos of myself in mirrors to pass the time. I cried in the mirror. I read books.

I traveled to the philharmonic. I was unprepared for the temperature so I purchased a sweater on the street. I did not know the language and there were 2,500 parks. I ate pistachios by the river. I rode the train. It was windy, and when I walked my hat wouldn’t stay in its place. The cab I took smelled of maple syrup. I ate bread with vegan butter, castelvetrano olives, and goat cheese with black pepper. Leek and pumpkin soup. I drank red wine. I walked fast to catch a train, a tram, or a bus. In my room I undressed and dressed again. On the eighteenth floor I dressed, and I brushed my hair. I attended a concert. Everyone wore black, and I moved past the crowd wearing black. I felt the buzz from the wine.

20.

Misophonia, or the hatred of sound, for example the sound of one’s own voice. We hear ourselves with the vibrations of eardrums and vocal cords, and airways. I heard my own voice when it echoed during a long-distance phone call. You were on the other end and my voice was thin. That day you called me with the worst news, the news that we would not speak again, never again, I heard my own voice.

21.

I never found the part of my tooth that chipped, it fell from my hands as I ran into the bathroom, and the floor was wet. I grabbed the sink to keep my balance. I searched but I could not find it.

1   Jellyfish don’t need a respiratory system, and some cannot detect images, only light. Their skin is thin, thin-skinned, mesoglea, and they use muscles to contract and to expand, the most efficient of swimmers.

LA GENOVESE

le cipolle, tagliate e poi immerse nell’acqua e sale, sale fino per levare l’acidità. A fuoco lento, per un’ora con le carote e il sedano, dopo quaranta minuti la carne, poi, aggiungi due dita di vino, fai sfumare, e un altro pizzico di sale, l’olio extravergine, gira, coprilo, sempre a fuoco lento. Scoprilo per un’ora, girando piano piano fino a che diventa una crema, ziti grandi, scegli qualche pasta doppia, dopo un po’, o dopo tre ore—no, ricorda, non serve altra acqua, le cipolle cacciano loro l’acqua,