SMILE of course I was, I had always
already begun SMILE yes certianly
SMILE I laughed breathless I was plead-
ing SMILE struck like paralysis SMILE!
SMILE! as the darts fly past SMILE SMILE
for I am all head, as you see
I am round hairless as a ball, all
yours only love me? SMILE?
—Joyce Carol Oates
Image: SMILE: a Dream Box by Gloria Vanderbilt
Randy Souther
I'm a Reference Librarian at the University of San Francisco's Gleeson Library, and I run the Joyce Carol Oates web site, Celestial Timepiece.
Celestial Timepiece 