In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

• Two Poems
• James Davis (bio)

Focus on the Family, 1996

1

The family was a scatterplotthrough which I drew a trending linethat pointed toward an originthat I called God. But it was notan unambiguous dataset.What the hell was a "third cousin"?I'd met one at that year's reunion.We'd watched the Olympics and got wetscoring each other's cannonballsinto the Hilton's peopled pool.I plotted his coordinatesnext to a friend from middle schoolwho met me in the bathroom stalls,where we ignored each other's zits.

2

The family watched a VHSin which James Dobson rapped with teens.He cracked some jokes. He wore blue jeansand doffed his hat to horniness.His wife and he had intercourse [End Page 473] three times a week. [Audible groans.]Condoms were ineffective screensagainst both AIDS and syphilis.We watched him in the family room,my brother, father, stepmom, me.Beneath us, in the sofa bed,the mattress squashed a field mouse, deadamong his droppings. The TVshed its blue light on the tomb.

3

The family joined in silent prayerfor the hostages to be released,for the bomb strapped to the gunman's chestto be a dud, for hands in the air.He'd been a construction worker thereand compound-fractured his left wrist.He was seeing a psychiatrist.He didn't feel provided for.The family said, tough luck, big guy.You poke the bear, you get the claws.The family wasn't without causeto want revenge. Neither was I.I'd gotten a B on my algebra test.Of all of us, I hated best.

4

The family voted for Bob Dole.We saw in him a gravitas; [End Page 474] in the incumbent, a literal ass.We tsk-tsked every exit poll.I swallowed Gardetto's pieces wholeto punish my esophagus.It wouldn't be my only lossthat year, but it would be the rule:Democracy won't do God's plan.Alone, I graphed parabolasand found their symmetry consoling.They spent half of forever fallinginto the lowest point there wasuntil forever started up again. [End Page 475]

Bottoming for Dummies

My first top was an anagram for Brain. He was not especially smart but tried his best to be helpful. He advised me to accept him as if he were the morning's first shit, pushing out to pull his fullness in.

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"Just think about how hot this is," he said.

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I was eighteen, a year younger than Brain. His basement bedroom was cold, the TV in the rumpus room blaring decapitation sound effects as Final Destination 2 threaded its tape in the VCR's mouth. I told him I was comfortable through gritted teeth until he no longer cared I was lying.

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A bottom should be palpable and mute / As a globed fruit.

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When my middle school put on Midsummer, Bottom was played by the only other James in eighth grade, a class clown with a poetic bent who could do "Enter Sandman" and "Under the Bridge" on the guitar. Some days, he'd bring the papier-mâché head to Language Arts, fingering the left ear like a fretboard. [End Page 476]

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Bottoming is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.

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The Bottom in Nick Bottom is not only a butt joke but also a dick joke, the bottom being a roller on a loom. Like a Flute or Snout, it is a sort of shaft. Bottom is a bottom, Titania's sub. And at the same time, she is made Oberon's bottom through Bottom's ass, the animal which, traditionally, horsemen would employ to shame a haughty mare into submission. Once she'd taken an ass, she'd take just about anything.

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No surprise for the bottom, no surprise for the top.

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Every two weeks or so, in my mind's back room, I would switch James in for the wrestling captain or one of the soccer team. In my fantasies, there was no sex. The wrestling captain pinned his teammate, then...

中文翻译：

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两首诗

以下是内容的简短摘录，以代替摘要：

• 两首诗
• 詹姆斯·戴维斯（简介）

关注家庭，1996

1

家庭是一个散点图，我通过它画了一条趋势线，指向我称之为上帝的起源。但这并不是一个明确的数据集。“三表弟”到底是什么？我在那一年的聚会上认识了一个人。我们观看了奥运会，并把彼此的炮弹射入希尔顿酒店的泳池中，全身湿透。我在一位中学朋友旁边画出了他的坐标，他在卫生间的隔间里遇见了我，我们在那里忽略了彼此的青春痘。

2

一家人观看了詹姆斯·多布森与青少年一起说唱的录像带。他开了一些玩笑。他穿着蓝色牛仔裤，脱下帽子，兴奋不已。他和妻子 每周发生三次性行为[完第473页] 。[可听见的呻吟声。]避孕套对于预防艾滋病和梅毒都无效。我们在家庭活动室里看着他，我的兄弟、父亲、继母、我。在我们下面的沙发床上，床垫压碎了一只田鼠，死在粪便中。电视将蓝光照射在坟墓上。

3

家人一起默默祈祷，祈祷人质获释，祈祷绑在枪手胸前的炸弹失效，祈祷双手高举。他曾是那里的一名建筑工人，左手腕复合性骨折。他正在看心理医生。他感觉自己没有得到满足。家人说，运气好啊，大家伙。你戳了熊一下，你就得到了爪子。一家人想要报仇并非没有理由。我也没有。我的代数考试得了 B。在我们所有人中，我最讨厌。

4

一家人投票给了鲍勃·多尔。我们在他身上看到了一种庄重感；【完第474页】 在任，一个不折不扣的混蛋。每次出口民意调查我们都嗤之以鼻。我把加德托的碎片整个吞下去，以惩罚我的食道。这不是我那一年唯一的损失，但这将是规则：民主不会实现上帝的计划。我独自画出了抛物线，发现它们的对称性令人安慰。他们花了一半的时间陷入了最低点，直到永远再次开始。[完第 475 页]

傻瓜触底

我的第一件上衣是 Brain 的字谜。他并不是特别聪明，但尽力提供帮助。他建议我接受他，就好像他是早上的第一顿大便一样，努力将他的饱足感吸进去。

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“想想这有多热，”他说。

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我当时十八岁，比布莱恩小一岁。他的地下室卧室很冷，娱乐室里的电视发出刺耳的斩首音效，播放着《死神来了2》的录像带。我咬紧牙关告诉他我很舒服，直到他不再关心我在撒谎。

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底部应该是可触及且静音的/如球形水果。

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当我的中学上演《仲夏夜》时，波顿是由八年级的唯一另一个詹姆斯扮演的，他是一个有诗意的班级小丑，可以用吉他弹奏“进入桑德曼”和“桥下”。有时，他会把纸型头带到语言艺术中，像指板一样用手指抚摸左耳。[完第476页]

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触底是强烈情感的自发溢出。

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Nick Bottom 中的 The Bottom 不仅是一个屁股笑话，也是一个鸡巴笑话，底部是织布机上的滚筒。就像长笛或鼻子一样，它是一种轴。底部就是底部，Titania 的子。与此同时，她通过巴顿的屁股被塑造成奥布朗的屁股，传统上，骑手会用这种动物来羞辱傲慢的母马，使其屈服。一旦她抓住了一个屁股，她就会抓住任何东西。

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底部没有惊喜，顶部也没有惊喜。

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大约每隔两周，在我脑海里的密室里，我就会把詹姆斯换成摔跤队队长或足球队队长。在我的幻想中，没有性。摔跤队长压住了队友，然后……