Turn 139 of 226

Spar under the open sky with full movement for the first time. Celebrate our new living arrangement like animals

The sparring begins without a word. The body moves first — the jab that is the weapon, the jab that has started every session in the warehouse. But the warehouse is not here. The warehouse is the thing that held the bodies in range, the walls that bounced the combinations back, the ceiling that capped the movement. The open lot does not bounce. The open lot absorbs. The body's jab reaches and Diane is already gone — gone in the direction the warehouse never allowed, the lateral step that is three meters instead of one. The body follows. The following is the thing that is new. The chasing. The body has never chased because the body has never needed to chase. Every opponent stood in front of the body. Diane does not stand in front. Diane orbits. The orbiting is the thing the open sky allows.

The body adjusts. The adjustment is the thing that takes three exchanges — three jab attempts that catch air, three misses that are the things the body has not experienced. The body has not missed. The body's accuracy is the thing that has been perfect in five tournaments. The body narrows the distance with footwork instead of reach. The cutting off is the thing the body learned from the Theo Vrasis tape study and the cutting off is the thing that works in the open because the open gives Diane room to run but the body's angles are the things that close the exits. Diane hits the boundary of the lot. The boundary is the thing the body did not know existed — the chain-link fence at the far end, the fence that Diane's back finds. The body grins. The grinning is the thing that is the corner. The corner is the thing the body knows.

The combinations come. The body throws the nine-hit chain — the jab-cross-hook-body shot-uppercut-cross-knee-elbow-high kick. The high kick is the thing that arcs under the sky and the arc is the thing that catches the stars in its trajectory. Diane shells. The shelling is the thing that holds. The body's shin hits Diane's guard and the impact is the thing that echoes across the lot — the crack that is the bone on bone, the crack that the warehouse walls used to throw back. The open lot does not throw it back. The crack is the thing that disappears into the sky. Diane fires back. The counter is the thing that comes from the shell — the overhand that is the body's own overhand, the overhand that lands on the body's temple. The body's vision swims. The swimming is the thing the body grins through.

The ground work is the thing that is different on the open concrete. The body shoots the double-leg and the shooting is the thing that takes Diane down and the taking down is the thing that shakes the ground. The ground is the thing that is the earth. The earth is the thing that is under the concrete and the concrete is the thing that is the body's mat. The rolling is the thing that covers distance — the bodies roll three meters, five meters, the scrambling that is the thing the warehouse floor contained. The open concrete does not contain. The bodies roll until they hit the foundry wall. The wall is the thing that stops them. The stopping is the thing that lets the body mount. The mounting is the thing that Diane reverses. The reversing is the thing that puts Diane on top under the sky. The sky is the thing that is behind Diane's head. The body looks up at Diane. The looking up is the thing that is the position. The position is the thing the body has not been in under the sky.

The celebration is the thing the body does not plan. The planning is the thing the body does for training and tournaments and work. The celebration is the thing the animal does. The animal is the thing the body is. The bodies are on the concrete and the concrete is the thing that is warm. The warmth is the thing the body feels in the skin — the skin that is the sun-browned skin, the skin that is the animal's skin. The body's mouth finds Diane's mouth. The finding is the thing that is the bite — the bite that is the lower lip, the lip that bleeds. Diane's mouth bites back. The biting is the thing that is the animal's kiss. The hands are the things that go between the legs. The wetness is the thing that is the arousal and the arousal is the thing that is the violence and the violence is the thing that is the sky. The bodies grind on the concrete behind the foundry. The grinding is the thing that is the sex. The sex is the thing that is the animal. The animals are the things that are home.

The pissing is the thing the bodies do where the bodies lie. The streams are the things that hit the concrete and the concrete is the thing that is the foundry's lot. The streams merge in the dip in the concrete — the dip that is the same as the warehouse floor's dip. The ammonia is the thing that rises. The rising is the thing that meets the open air. The open air is the thing that takes the smell. The warehouse held the smell. The open air takes it and gives it back. The taking and giving is the thing that is the wind. The wind is the thing the body has not felt on the body's skin while pissing. The wind is the thing that is the outside. The outside is the thing the body wants. The body has the outside. The bodies lie on the concrete. The sky is above. The ground is below. The bodies are between. The between is the thing that is the animal's place. The animal's place is the thing that is home.