Loving Annabelle

*

*

*

My cigarette burns like a flame.

My lungs will never be the same.

I puff, and I puff.

I can't get enough.

Oh, well.

I'll get cancer just the same.

Very nice, Catherine,

but remember, the beauty of poetry

is in the details.

Next time, you might want to be more specific

about which brand you smoke.

Someone will be out shortly to get you.

Someone will be out shortly to get you.

Who would like to go next?

Colins, how about you?

"A single blade.

"Cold. Alone.

"Misunderstood,

causing fear to move through my soul like wind"

See me after class.

That was very nice, Colins.

Yeah, nice enough to make you want to kill yourself.

- Hey. - Hi.

You're the new girl, right?

Yep.

I'm Kristen Edwards.

Annabelle.

It's nice to meet you.

You too.

Oh, my God.

Your mother is Senator Tillman.

That is so cool.

Oh, my God, your mom is such an inspiration.

I'm totally going into politics.

Who are you?

Only the daughter of Senator Tillman.

Who's that?

Hello?

Her mom could be, like, our first female president.

I doubt that.

Are you in a band?

Yeah.

Mm.

A rock star.

Cat's dad's drummer for The Weary.

Was.

He's doing his own thing now.

He's in rehab.

Dude.

What?

What?

You better not let them catch you smoking.

Later.

Bye.

Bye.

This is our administrative hall.

The cafeteria and offices are here.

Senior dorm rooms are upstairs.

And your classes

are up the hill in the other building.

You might want to hide those underneath your shirt.

Why?

And the nose ring,

you might want to take that out.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

It's open.

Good luck.

God, please bless this food

we are about to receive.

May it nourish our body in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

I hear you're in dorm five.

It looks that way.

Me too.

You're lucky.

The sisters don't let us do anything,

but Miss Bradley, she lets us order pizza sometimes

and stay up later on the weekends.

Sounds great.

Where did you put your chem notes?

Why are you wigging out?

I'm wigging out because if I don't pass chem,

I'm going to fail again.

It's her second go-round as a senior.

Just announce it

to the whole frigging world, Cat.

I'm sorry, but it is.

I can't believe she's smoking.

I can't believe she's smoking.

* I feel like I'm only...

Hey, Prissy.

What's in the cage?

It's a porcupine.

Her name is Prissy.

I found her in the woods.

I-I think her mother died.

Careful, Annabelle.

That thing has wicked gas.

She doesn't have gas.

No one else knows about her but us.

Miss Bradley is letting me keep her.

Because she has no other friends.

Come here, Prissy.

Come here.

"My respiration

"and inspiration.

"The beating of my heart.

"The passing of blood and air through my lungs.

"A few light kisses,

"a few embraces,

"a reaching around of arms.

"A song of me rising from bed

and meeting the sun."

Now, we've already spent a lot of time

talking about Song of Myself from a stylistic perspective,

but what about content?

Wasn't Walt Whitman gay?

Yes.

So he's writing this about another man.

Let's take a closer look at the opening lines.

What does he mean when he writes,

"I celebrate myself,

"for every atom belonging to me

belongs to you?"

Martha?

We're all connected?

Anyone else?

Annabelle.

Because, through love,

we feel the intensity of our connection

to everything and everyone,

and, at the core, we're all the same.

We're all one.

So I'm the same as Colins.

I don't think so.

Why don't you expand your mind?

Why don't you stop cutting yourself?

Out of my class.

Everyone open your books to page 46.

Let's take another look at the beginning.

A story I loved as a child

was about two frogs

who were playing leapfrog.

What else?

But by mistake,

they jumped into a large vat of fresh cream.

Finding no foothold,

they started swimming to avoid drowning.

But one of the frogs was just too tired.

He couldn't take it,

and he croaked to his friends that he was finished.

And sure enough, he sank to the bottom

of that vat

and died a miserable death.

He really croaked.

But the other frog

missed his friend, of course;

saddened by his loss,

but he kept right on going,

persevering, swimming,

persevering,

swim

persevering,

swimming with determi...

Here we go.

He kept right on going

With perseverance and determined strokes.

He had churned that cream into butter

and hopped out.

Deo gratias.

I'm glad you could make it out tonight.

Me too.

You've been so busy lately.

How are your classes going?

Good.

My plate is definitely full this semester.

So have you, you know, had any thoughts

about our conversation last week?

What?

Why do you keep putting this off?

I'm not putting it off.

I...

I'm just, um, I'm not ready to leave the school yet.

You can live off campus and still teach there.

I do it for my school.

Why does the subject of us,