the fossil record
<<23>>
Al Madril Interview
against one wall of the Olympic Auditorium
stands Al Madril in wrestling togs
a bulky tripod-mounted camera
trained on his upper body
a fat man in horn-rimmed glasses
holds a foam-tipped microphone to Madril's face
having just asked him a question
which everyone has already forgotten
in the future, all videotape
will decompose
and the scenes from our childhood
we worked to preserve
will turn to dust:
against one wall of the Olympic Auditorium
stands Al Madril in togs
on the verge of being savagely attacked
by a shadowy figure
who will enter the frame from the right
and exit quickly to the left
headed face-first for the shadows
John Darnielle