He thinks about what Robert
De Niro and Jimi Hendrix
have in common. ‘They are
both cool,’ he says. What does it
mean, cool? Ice-cold, good, smooth.
He wishes he was cool.
He opens the window and stands in front
of it in only his underwear. His boxers are
too colourful. Blue and purple
squares. He needs
to get more ‘mature’
underwear. He thinks about
Peter Pan. Wishes he
was a pirate. He wouldn’t
survive. Asthma.
He sits at his desk staring at his
computer while listening to
hip-hop instrumentals. He imagines
a snow leopard appearing on his
bed and turns around. There is no
snow leopard on his bed. If there
was it would purr and
go to sleep. He could go sleep
next to it, so that it was curled
around him. His head would be
against its side. Gently moving, rocking
to the animal’s breaths. It would be
warm and soft. He could sing
to it. What would he sing?
Freestyle, something funky. He could
tell the snow leopard about that cat
he always used to see that looked like
a snow leopard. The window
would close itself and chuckle. He would
fall asleep and wake up with the
snow leopard on a mountain. Mountains
feel good. Mountains saved him
more than once. He and the snow leopard
could live there in a cave. He could build
a fire. ‘Old man’s beard.’ The snow leopard
would protect him and teach him how
to survive. The snow leopard wouldn’t
care about his boxers. It wouldn’t care
about what Robert De Niro and Jimi Hendrix.
have in common. It would just talk
about mountain life which would be
more interesting. In the mountains
he would always be cool. But never
as cool as the snow leopard.