DIALOGUE

A: You know what?

B: No.

A: Write what you know.

B: Now?

A: Right.

B: What you know?

A: What you know now.

B: Right.

A: What do you know, now?

B: Right now?

A: Right. Write it.

B: Write now?

A: So it is written.

B: What is written?

A: What is written will be.

B: (cautiously) Right …

A: That which is written.

B: (sarcastically) What do you know…

A: (pedantically) No.What you know you know now.

B: Now know?

A: Know now.

B: (brightly) As against before?

A: Right. Before.

B: Right before now?

A: After.

B: (carefully) After now…

A: No. Write after now.

B: (losing interest) Afterwards.

A: (impatiently) No. Now.

B: (irritated) Now what?

A: About now?

B: No.

A: Right about now.

B: Too right.

A: (school mistress) To be right.

B: Right around.

A: Right around about what?

B: (mock astonishment) What about that!

A: What?

B: Writing!

A: Writing about what that is.

B: (puzzled) That is …

A: Writing about you know what.

B: (embarrassed) That?

A: That you know.

B: (defensively) No!

A: No – you know.

B: (gloomily) No one knows.

A: No. No. No.

B: Then what?

A: No…

B: Then why?

A: No …

B: Then which?

A: Then no.

B: Then why write?

A: It is written.

B: So you say.

A: (losing heart) So it says.

B: You say so.

A: (hopelessly) Who knows?

B: (uncertainly) So no it is then...

A: So it is.

B: (smugly) So will it be.

(pause)

A: (giving in) Right then.

B: Maybe …

(from an old notebook April-July '05 & fiddled with today - making a virtue out of treading water)