THE WINDMILL FARM
I was drawing a windmill onto the fog in the mirror after a shower, when I thought, why am I drawing a windmill onto the fog in the mirror? Then I answered, I’m drawing a windmill because it is a metaphor for rain. Next, I wiped the windmill off the mirror with my towel, and got ready for work. I work at a windmill farm 45 miles east of Los Angeles. The job consists mostly of staring at windmills. Mondays we meditate under the windmills, the company brings in a yogi with a PhD in philosophy. Tuesdays are Texas hold ’em Tuesdays. Wednesdays we stare at the windmills with absolute fear. Thursdays we check for mechanical failures and other duties as necessary. Fridays, Fridays we wipe the windmill blades clean of flies and mosquito guts. Then on weekends I watch boxing and long for the swooshing sounds of the windmill farm. Weekends are tough, but it’s only two days.
—from Rattle #54, Winter 2016
__________
Jose Hernandez Diaz: “I write for the adrenaline rush that is creation, the precision that comes with editing, and the satisfaction of publication. I’m interested in the strange and the beautiful. In exotic animals, like jaguars. In boxing. I’m interested in Kafka, James Tate, Russell Edson, Ray Gonzalez, and Christopher Kennedy, to name a few.” (web)
