4 July 2005 | Vol. 5, No. 2

pessimism? or robotics?

i am able to sit through an extremely funny movie

without making a noise or changing my facial expression


i am incapable of laughing without trying to laugh


i am never interested in anyone

unless they first show interest in me


and those things never work out anyway


i try not to think of myself as person

but a metal object, built suddenly by machines in one morning

something impossible to hurt emotionally


every once in a while i look in the steel mirror

and see the steel mirror

About the author:

Tao Lin's stories are forthcoming in The Cincinnati Review, Other Voices Magazine, The Portland Review, Opium Print, and Bullfight Review. These are stories from his collection, Bed, which will be coming out in the future. He lives in New York City.

For further reading:

See the complete list of work by Tao Lin at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 5, No. 2, where "pessimism? or robotics?" ran on July 4, 2005. List other work with these same labels: poetry.

42opus is an online magazine of the literary arts.

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