The Descent of Alette Quotes

“ ‘You are your” “Past, Present,” “& Future,’ he said” ” ‘You divide into” “those components” “in this room’ ” ” ‘But I do not have” “components!’ ” “our three voices said,” ” ‘My
secret name—” “Time’s secret name” “is Oneness,” “is One Thing’ ” “As I—the one” “in the middle—spoke,” “the one of us in front—” “who was the Past—” “had already” “finished speaking” “& was awaiting” “his reply” “He said,” ” ‘Don’t we seem” “to experience” “things
somewhat this way?” “There is past, present” :& future’ ” “The Future then cried out,” ” ‘Where is my life?” ‘Where is my life?” “You have stolen” “my life!’ ” “There was a silence” “The man” “reached out &” “pressed a button” “on the cave wall—” “we three united” “into
one again” “while he wrote words on” “a clipboard” “Then he looked up & said,” ” ‘Going forward?” “Going on?” “Death lies ahead, you know’ ” “Any woman” “may already” “be dead,’ ” “I said”
― Alice Notley, The Descent of Alette

“A mother" "& child" "were both on fire, continuously"
"The fire" "was contained in them" "sealed them off
from others" "But you could see the flame" "halo
of short flame all about the" "conjoined bodies, who
sat" "they sat apart" "on a seat for two" "at end of car" "The ghost" "of the father" "sat in flames" "beside them" "paler flames" "sat straight ahead" "looking straight ahead, not" "moving." "A woman"
"another woman" "in a uniform" "from above the ground" "entered" "the train" "She was fireproof" "She was gloves, & she" "took" "the baby" "took the baby" "away from the"" "mother" "Extracted" "the burning baby" "from the fire" "they made together" "But the baby" "still burned" ("But not yours" "It didn't happen" "to you")
"'We don't know yet" "if it will" "stop burning,'" "said the uniformed" "woman" "The burning woman" "was crying" "she made a form" "in her mind" "an imaginary" "form" "to settle" "in her arms where" "the baby" "had been" "We saw her fiery arms" "cradle air" "She cradled air" ("They take your
children" "away" "if you're on fire")
"In the air that" "she cradled" "it seemed to us there" "floated" "a flower-like" "a red flower" "its petals" "curling flames"
"She cradled" "seemed to cradle" "the burning flower of" "herself gone" "her life" ("She saw" "whatever she saw, but what we saw" "was that flower")”
― Alice Notley, The Descent of Alette

“I entered "a car" "in which I seemed" "to see double"
"Each person I" "looked at seemed" "spread out" "as if doubled"
"Gradually" "I perceived that" "each person" "was surrounded by
a ghostly" "second image" "was encased in it" "&& each"
"of those images," "those encasings," "was exactly the same"
"each was in fact" "the tyrant" "Though colorless," "a gray
ghost of him" "But he bent & swayed" "& walked with" "every
person, his" "expression" "always" "the same:" "mild &
benign" "And he encased many" "men not so" "uncomfortably"
"But others," "especially women," "looked as if they" "suffered from"
"trying" "to fit inside" "this other" "As if his form" "squeezed
theirs," "their breasts & hips," "very painfully—" "his long
thin streamlined form" "One woman" "tried to cast him off,"
"shake him off" "Writhed & jumped" "Then I felt him" "begin to
encase me" "He sank down" "into my head" "into my thoughts,"
"which instantly" "separated" "assumed a terrifying" "strict
order" "unfamiliar" "to me" "Each felt distinct" "from each,"
"arranged" "in a progression" "My head" "contained an
army" "of separate" "same-shape thoughts" "Soldiers"
"soldiers marching" "Never touching each" "other" "It wasn't"
"wasn't" "like a mind" "No thought felt true" "Thoughts felt
efficient" "He squeezed on me" "would squeeze away" "my shape"
"I cast him off" "& ran" "from the car”
― Alice Notley, The Descent of Alette

“We couldn't find" "our fathers— " "there were several" "of us" "We were walking through subway cars" "looking" "for our fathers" "Endless train" "It seemed the longest" "train there is" "as if it circled" "the world—" "& we walked it, we were searching" "for our fathers,”
― Alice Notley, The Descent of Alette

“On the subway" "we rode the trains" "Got on, got off" "Sat & watched, sat" "& slept" "Walked from car to car" "Stood in stations" "We were caught up" "in movement" "in ongoingness" "& in ongoingness" "of voices," "for example" "Which of us spoke? did" "it matter?" "Who saw what" "was being seen," "knew what" "was known?" "Gradually what was seen" "became what I saw," "to me" "Despair & outrage" "became mine too" "Sorrow" "became mine—" "To ride a" "mechanical" "contrivance" "in the darkness" "To be steeped in" "the authority" "of" "another's mind" "the tyrant's mind" "Life of bits & pieces"
"cars & scenes" "disconnected" "little dreams" "False continuum" "mechanical time:" "What do we miss?" "What do we miss?" "Was there once" "something else?" "There are animals" "in the subway" "But they" "are mute & sad" "There are singers" "There are corpses" "There is substance" "of darkness" "And emotion" "strong emotion" "The air" "is all emotion”
― Alice Notley, The Descent of Alette