x
we accidentally imagine
by andrew yoon
this is a book of mutable poetry. it exists along a
field of probability with an effectively endless number
of possible realizations. every time this page is opened,
a program generates an entirely new version of the book.
some elements change more often than others. the random
seed for the version you are looking at is 8025941.
because there is a seed number stored in this window's url,
refreshing this page or opening a link to this url
will render the exact same contents you see now.
if you would like to share or keep a link to this version of the book,
you can use this .
if you want to visit or share a random new version of the book,
use this one .
to link to an exact version of a particular poem,
hover over the poem's title area and click the link
which appears that says "fixed link". you will also
see one that says "mutable link" - this points to where
that particular mutable poem lands in a random new book.
try following the mutable links of a particular poem through
different versions and see how it transforms.
you can print or (if your computer has the ability) download a
print-ready pdf of this version of the book using your browser's
printing functionality. some elements of the display will change
to make it more suitable for printing. (you may want to modify your
printing settings to disable the automatic header/footer generation
most browsers do.) please note that as i make
improvements to the mechanics of the program, the content you see
here will likely change, even with a fixed seed - if you want a
truly fixed version, please use the printing method.
the code for this entire project is under the gpl3 license and is
completely free to read, use, and redistribute. the most up-to-date
code is available on github
here .
andrew is a composer, programmer, poet, and bad pianist. you can
find some of his other projects online at his personal website
here .
...
we accidentally imagine
by andrew yoon
seed 8025941
it is 2026. we wonder what to say next,
and the wind is still blowing.
we are breathing. and we
are still breathing. one
thought and another passing by
in the street while we ask
ourselves if this is going
anywhere if we should instead be
focusing on something else like
the way the smoke is
drifting away from the incense
stick, or the sound our eyelids
make when we blink. is there a
place for rushing anymore?
the softmurmurs again,
reminding us about our breath: and
a little blue bird lands
on the windowsill. it is
singing.
and all at once things
are so quiet, a tiny hiss
from the walls, distant
clanging of a ventilation fan. we
breathe with the sunlight,
passing clouds causing these
little pulses in the sunglow
and somehow we feel it in our
toes even though we can't
quite tell why the wind
chooses the pitches it sings
against the window, why one
harmony should point to
another, why every story has some
sort of climax where
elements and trajectories
culminate into some bigger thing
as if we had been heading
there all along as if there
were some kind of purpose
behind the penscratches or
where this leaf decides to
fall in this rotting pile we
notice a pain in our lower back
from bad posture and some
strange sense of pressure from
the bottom of our right foot
now the ventilation fan
slowing down into a periodic
banging; we notice a coin lying on
the ground but we can't make
out which side it landed on.
do we care? is it good to
care? would it matter if we
knew? we are staring at the
coin and the coin is staring
back.
matter less we are sure
longer longer we stare at
details the the details,
details, even they we stare
matter because because the
longer because longer at we the
at even. the because less
we because the longer
stare at the details, the less
. because the stare at the
the less we because the
longer we the details, we at the
details less less sure at stare
we are sure details they
even because the the stare at
are sure they we stare at ,
the details, the are the the
we are sure they even
matter
intention to writing
with going across lines by
one across one a scratchy to
it going it. that it we
suspect can't help but and we
days the week, what two the
the same time might sound
like same time happening at
same time like if listen (we
suspect nobody is things down as
they listened worrying
inside it it these all so
so to be working seems
seems suggest and the stays
the the the conversation
stays the same. or to a we or the
eyelids and underthere a
beforemaroon , eyes again with
questions ideas to see see are
these those little those
clunks counterpoint wind..
the a or a while behind ideas
color when we so slowly the
clock seems to be working as
clunks and little and and and
and little and the the
nobody really seems. about the
wind care about the the a we or
to while eyelids while
behind the eyelids, a
beforemaroon eyes again with
questions and with questions
questions and how to we color stuck
inside moving seems to working
as those clunks and and
little fingers and suggest and
stays the same and nobody the
we or the eyes
beforemaroon, eyes again ideas to see
under a color when we are color
color when we so slowly clock
seems to the be be working
usual with with those clunks
and and counterpoint . and
the really seems care about
seems care about wind. the
wayingsong a we or to while , and
underthere, beforemaroon, the
eyes how to see under how to
see when are color when we
are stuck we are stuck
inside it so clock working as be
working as with those clunks and
we suggest a counterpoint
conversation really seems to care the
wind agains eyelids behind
behind the, and a, the eyes
questions again with questions
and and and ideas see
stinging sensation
sensation our feel this stinging
sensation in our hands dents where
the we in scrape scrape
paint and care care a lot about
, how each each in the
wires behind the did it on
purpose things just sort of if
things close our we a floating
like we our bodies floating
outside like we our that the,
that it warm and . we breathe
the windows stinging
sensation in our now in and
sensation in our small floorboard
what caused each groove and
and the panels and walls of
about the desk happened
why know why smiling. we
are smiling and we know
dealing and smiling.. and.
different dealing dealing we
don't know why gestures know
why thought the the joke was
didn't many things going on
there so a once, a this
struggle there the sky another
arriving seem arriving and to be
keep arriving them emails
just arriving and none none
arriving and none of to, all these
situations from real people,
branching out into branching out
into entire out into some
after options impossible to
weigh. to weigh. we we end
the corner of the room
empty except for the little
grooves in the floorboard, we
smile. the moments going and
going in such a beautiful way
that we can't take our eyes
off it, noticing just how
inconsistent things are, how blurry
and arbitrary the
differences seem between things and
people and ideas, how musical a
painting can sound the ink never
seems to dry.
we keep asking
questions like “will this make me
happy?” when instead it might be
more interesting to ask what
it would sound like if the
leaves on every tree were poems
written on little sheets of
paper and everybody in the
world began to read them out
loud all at the same time and
then the wind began to blow
and the poems went flying in
the air all around and
everybody just watched it happen
in complete silence we
can't help but smile a little,
and then a lot. and someone
hugs the stranger to their
left and we all begin to
laugh. we ask ourselves
another question we can't hear
because of all the wind and
poems, and that's just fine we
realize we didn't want to know
the answers anyway when
there are so many confusing
and beautiful things all
around us anyway. we just keep
laughing and grabbing poems out
of the air, sometimes
deciding to read them and
othertimes using them as napkins.
the wind, the wind is
laughing too.
sniffling smile at the
the sound of we our us okay
feel not warmer warmer but
warmer warmer but more okay . .
okay. which slantingway or
not? lean the sounds the
kind making fuzzy kind
theringly by again and again while
again while all these these we
and bird of people laughing
laughing and somehow voices
acoustic vibrations buzzing
inside our and making feel not
warmer which slantingway
slantingway which which one ? the
work and another not? every
quiet our but try not to notice
. we. we pause we pause and
just breathe again second
hand , the by again and sun
longer and the sun a. a a don't
recognize . somehow the voices
make sort this sort the the
hear we hear vibrations
buzzing inside our but more okay
more. not? the vibrations
more lean ears closer trying
sounds. we are we our actions
but the sun against this
kind of sound against the
grass and while a again the the
the again the keep. bird
recognize . but smile of harmony
against harmony this of the
voices make make this the
laughing and somehow the voices
make somehow the voices make
sort sort windchimes these
acoustic vibrations buzzing not
warmer okay the inside the
sounds .. we not this fuzzy kind
of sound . where these
angles, breathe for a while
and and and we breathe we
to we our lungs in and we
breathe breathe breathe lungs
we we breathe and we
breathe it funny how we can't
can't smile when whose names
colors whose names we colors
whose names we can't remember
lines and so many lines.. we
remember that of breathe and we we
breathe we can't how we can't
help when the sun starts
coming back right when but on
cue of whose names remember
incense glowing and somehow
becoming smoke lungs we breathe
in our lungs glowing lungs
we breathe. we. laughing
ask ask funny how we coming
but smile when the sun
coming back cue on shades of
these colors lines many
somehow becoming.. isn't it we
these colors whose names the
sun back shades so many
lines. that the stick of still
glowing the stick we and we
questions to ask questions
laughing! isn't funny how we
funny how we can't help but
smile when sun starts coming
of cue can't remember
lines of incense is and
becoming smoke in our lungs still
glowing glowing is of incense is
still smoke and somehow
becoming smoke in lungs breathe.
forget forget to ask funny how
we but smile when the the
sun
silence and quiet now. a
small voice humming and
laughing in the other room. a
crystal or some melting snow.
behinds toward while again
around where's or why's while
leftandright shrinking silently. a
wooden creak. a scratch. all
centers things happening all
around, things just happening
and just being the way they
are. and we realize that this
is a beautiful thing. that
this is a beautiful thing.
it's hard to speak
sometimes. we are frustrated with
ourselves for our
inconsistencies once at peace and
allowing things to be just the way
they are and want to be,
always taking action and never
taking action,
leftandrighting with the leftandright
once again wishing things
were a different way or that
the coin had landed on the
other face; we can't figure
out who we are, and we aren't
quite sure if that question
leads anywhere hard to find
the energy to say anything,
too many responses waiting
behind each option which never
seem to go anywhere
positive, anywhere that doesn't
hurt anybody or dissipate
into the grass as if nothing
had happened in the first
place and we begin to wonder if
anything actually did or does
happen or if we had somehow just
thought it all up out of some kind
of desperation and
confusion aimed at nothing in
particular, cycles going back and
forth but never quite the same
way, always surprising
somehow and adding to the
confusion and lack of any sense of
place, the feeling that we are
nowhere and the feeling that we
are getting nowhere.
to that we even., and
sometimes they are sometimes
happens that we go from not okay,
and sometimes it happens
are , and and sometimes even
one to the sometimes things
are not okay okay, are other
are not okay, from from
systems all around us
and our lives fracturing
breaking apart piece by piece as
we keep trying to glue
things back together with
words and theories and poems
and cathedrals
architectures in the mind and and later
in concrete, we begin to
feel jittery as we realize we
haven't stood up in hours, this
chair and its arms a little too
narrow, pressing against the
sides of our skulls, plurals
and singulars not having so
much significance to us now
when the lights are
flickering so subtly. we pray but
don't know who we are praying
to who we are praying for,
what we want, what we should
want. fading. fading.
. every more we aren't to
pretend our best getting
pretend we . a fewer faster and
outside while we pretend best to
pretend we repetition getting a
every little with fewer
faster a little little with.
outside conversation our best
to heated while outside
becoming heated aren't accurate
and with fewer the on
outside going. the little
accurate, a fewer mistakes, a
little faster little, the
conversation outside conversation
going with. a little faster
repetition getting pretend our
best becoming heated do we
aren't listening. every
listening. every a little more
accurate a to becoming heated
while we do every to becoming
going becoming heated while
conversation going on outside while
outside becoming we aren't
heated best to pretend while to
on with conversation
heated. the conversation
going with fewer mistakes. a
little mistakes. the
conversation going on outside
becoming heated while listening
repetition getting best to pretend
we repetition getting
best we do our best to do our
best we aren't pretend
little, a little accurate. the
conversation mistakes. we do our best
we to pretend best we to our
best to pretend we aren't
listening. every repetition our
best we do heated do to
pretend every a little more
faster repetition faster and
with faster and with
becoming with becoming. going
with conversation going on
heated do our best do our while
our outside and with. the
conversation going. the fewer
mistakes. going with fewer
mistakes. accurate, a little
faster and a little a little
more accurate, a accurate, a
little faster on outside
mistakes . the on heated while
listening pretend best to pretend
we to pretend we best to
pretend we aren't to pretend
heated best getting we aren't
heated do our best becoming
heated do while
tangling wires into
these bizarre shapes, rugs
with strange colors and
melodies waitingly, taking deep
breaths before the speech where
we finally speak our
minds: "won't everybody
please, please stop this
cruelty? can't we see how
unnecessary it is?" some glass
window creaking under winds,
some oil spilled in a parking
lot. how again the why's and
who's before and after or some
some behind throughingly, a
manual for writers of research
papers about electrical
engineering and game theory,
complex analysis and early
marxist painting; the
walls of this place have
shoulders that are
sagging, somewhere in these
pages an actual answer to a
question that matters. a new pair
of jeans, a holiday
decoration left up for months, a
lightbulb which doesn't fit even
though we could have sworn the
size was right at the store.
color combinations making us
feel sick and wonder why we
care about the dissonance,
why we should prefer one to
the other. we conclude that
we're all just bits of air
moving with the waves of some
song we can't hear: now
banging on the wooddrums, the
thoughts and the doubts, hopes or
imaginations throwing fists at the
organ keyboard, some body of
loud waters, some
electrical structure groaning in
rains particles trapped in
the breezings, the sine
waves, the eyeballs thrown
left and right or up and down
or is that a sign of
happiness, of
peacefulness? who's to tell what's
harmony and what's dissonance?
who's to tell the words of the
song when each moment's just
a few bits of data? hard to
see the picture from a
pixel, hard to find the poem
through a word a letter an inkdot
the arounds and behinds
lost somewhere in the mix,
the breath being exhaled
before we even noticed it was
inside our bodies, each note
rising just a little higher or
just a little more like dirty
wallpaper: we ask each other where
it happened. where the
music got faster. where the
blue became green, where the
light was switched on and the
newer waves began to
interfere with things and distort
the shapes, canceling out
or multiplying or
performing more complicated
operations until the noise is noise
and the signal is noise and
the noise is still noise yet
somehow wider, more sideways
and spinningly and
uppingly and backwardly, more
harsh and out of sync, now neon
colorlines and batteries, strange
gaps in the spiral not
patterns but something about
them which makes us feel the
walls are moving further away
and the room is becoming
smaller, that one moment is
another and the second hand is
somehow different this time
around. we cannot help but go to
sleep again, this time with a
strange smile and already
looking forward to coffee. this
time with socks and a thicker
blanket. this time with the
windows open: and in comes the
cooler air.
we don't because caring
about more more human is
laughing on glowing through the
music keeps, smiling
everything person and these tones
staring and makes is so of
quickly and how. in the end will
all out to last sentence.
another, one after another
falling bucket and the timer not
ink going around on
themselves while from other notice
moment how the sun the whole
somehow feel it anything at all
know repeating or not but. we
because caring have us the sun
glowing music just going, the
around and an we are is, is doing
how air these the being
absorbed the into kinetic of us
wonder, trees of quickly how we
wonder if in out to be part of
joke, a story without bricks
clinging to one, one after
another the opinions facts the
smiles and hugs our best
pretending. circles of ink going
around on voices from the other
room every all around us, how
this piece the whole somehow
feel it on moment we
repeating themselves or care
never have or feel more is
laughing is glowing pushing
trees around a smiling and are
is, what is sort staring us
in turning by into kind
bits of why wood is so
resonant of quickly turn their
the end be part punchline, a
story without a sentence. one
one after into the and the
smiles hugs, paints and doing
best of ink going the other
room we can't help sun
landing of paper and how the
whole is glowing and we can
somehow feel it we repeating we
perfectly okay because caring
about feel more
even roads what do they
always anyway of we made the
leaves decided or felt need the
leaves decided or felt grow way
we look the up look at the
and we don't look see us so
they noticed say anything,.
. and they walk out which
doesn't and we which glance
eight yet, and it that notice
sun is behind us and that our
us. around into try to
smear the ink and somehow it
and remains perfectly
legible we and were hoping that
the smudges somehow word or
the sunlight or or
batteries. the. different asking
colorshades or something or
something or or cereal light and,
papers scattered from months
over some not drawn
paintings printed out from an and
that means glass bowl, not
seeming to wonder tinkling or
rubbing cardboard dark so
uncharged batteries how's this
like it something or
something of than expected the
light color onto the walls
before piled over important
some much and from an old
whatever, meaning. to wonder
the smell of damp sticks
from outside. a slowmoving
sound. we notice how
everything is so pink maybe we
remember why, but for now we
don't. “can it stay like this
for a while?” and, for once,
it does.
we wonder what would
make us happy, what would
make this headache go away
which keeps distracting us
from everything going on the
scratching pens and observations,
a quote out of context we
leave the incense burning
when we go to sleep even
though we know it's a fire
hazard and it puts our lives in
danger and the lives of all the
other people living above and
below us, and all of the people
we know and the people who
care about what happens to us
even though we never asked
them to. we wonder why it
should matter that something
happens to anyone, we wonder why
we care. and everything is
so quiet.
quietingly, the
softmurmurs not trying to say
anything in particular or
convince anyone of anything,
prefering to let things just exist
the way they are and stay the
same when they need to stay
the same and change when
they need to change, or not
even need to stay the same or
need to change but maybe
instead want to stay the same or
want to change, or rather: it
just happens. it just
happens, and it keeps just
happening. the softmurmers not
even speaking about what's
going on or what's not going on
but instead just
mentioning about whatever is on
their mind at that moment,
letting it out and letting it go,
the sound waves not
disappearing but echoing off a
thousand surfaces and every
blade of grass, split and
muffled and distorted and
echoed until they sound like
dead trees, the sun pushing
the waves around a little
through the screen door, gnats
in the air just sort of
moving around.
and just like that, the
page turns for us. the next
series of random numbers fill
the screen and we begin to
imagine dots and we begin to
connect them and agree and
disagree with them, relate to
them and question them and
share them. the page glares.
we glare. everybody is
glaring and nobody is laughing
and then one of us starts
laughing, and another one of us
starts laughing, and we are all
laughing and the paper is
laughing and the inkdots are
laughing: the numbers are
laughing too.
or how and we laugh
wonder what might be next, if
anything actually ever really.
we reject the really
changes and we ask “who are you we
know. then. and to cry. we,
and. so aimless place when
it seems like question
comes to our ears which so, so
of question how we are able
to able to read laugh. we
wonder what might be might be if
anything over these or if years or
ever really changes the ask
we ask ourselves an and we
answer to cry. and then we and
and laugh, and laugh begin
laugh see and
we wait for a few minutes
and wonder if it would be
okay for us to ask now: "is
this beautiful?" we wonder
if nobody noticed and we
watch the air just sort of move
around through the leaves. we
take another breath with the
sunlight and feel warmer.
throughs and arounds
behindingly the now nowing while
again the time continues and
stops and continues again.
circles of ink we close our eyes.
we never seem to notice
the changes until they've
already happened. or at least
they are well into
happening. we wonder why that is:
the clouds evaporating and
the sun coming out, the air
getting so slightly warmer; a
single row of bricks painted a
different color. who the behinds
through before how's and where
when whenever the
againagain the words repeatingly
as we notice a little
cottonfluff drifting toward us. it
sticks to our ink, and we ask
again where meaning comes
from. a million coins being
thrown every instant, fields
of possibility so
terrifyingly wide staring us in the
eye so intensely we have to
look away and we notice this
little bug just flying around,
landing, and flying around
again. flying, landing, and
flying around again.
and trangles
themselves relationships in the
wrong direction. we that
could into spray. and these
colors and we we watch it with a
smile. it all other things
each geometries and
relationships pushing in always in we
in the the wrong seem to the
way we that could be the....
concrete, all paints while we
watch with a smile. it into
other things things, shapes
sort into other things,
shapes sort of geometries and
relationships pushing buttons behind
each geometries geometries
and and dominoes.. not
going the way fall going or.
goals sneaking again.
sneaking be the point that could
again sneaking into the
thoughts spray all paints ideas
spray paints and concrete,
all ideas it trangles
themselves up the the geometries
behind and and and each each
other themselves up behind
each other making
relationships themselves up buttons
and dominoes. not expected
or maybe that could into.
ideas these colors and a
squares and. it all outlines of
just happens outlines of
squares and trangles into
shapes themselves shapes sort
of each other making other
themselves up behind each other
relationships other the geometries
behind each and in the wrong
direction. fall dominoes
direction fall in the wrong to the
way we. not going the way we
but maybe maybe that could
be the but into the
thoughts again. ideas ideas and
interactions. spray paints all these
colors and we all and trangles
into up up up behind each each
other themselves pushing
buttons fall in the wrong
direction.. not always direction
. not going the way., but
maybe or intended, but we that
... ideas paints these
and colors interactions.
spray paints and concrete,
all these and concrete
colors and ideas smile
outlines of all other things, and
trangles into making themselves
pushing buttons wrong seem seem
to to not the wrong
direction way we we expected could
.
how did we get here? the
questions which keep making their
way inside our mouths as if
we never could learn from
the last time we couldn't
answer and instead only become
more unhappy and began to
throw things at the walls with
some inexpressible anger
screaming and shouting with a red
face and bulging veins,
fists again and again against
the door not even caring
what's on the other side, too
caught up with the idea of the
door being there in the first
place another why and another
if causing the lights to
flicker and the stove to begin to
smell like something is
burning so we all try to remember
what we had done in the
kitchen last but we can't
remember, and even the attempts to
remember make us shout with fewer
words, make us scream with our
fingers and pound harder and
harder on the door while the
wood is splintering here and
there and the doorframe
appears to budge this time or
that time or this time again
and again and again
we ask ourselves some
question we can't hear, muffled
because our heads are
underwater, this cold sensation
pressing on our foreheads while
we feel our socks becoming
heavy, cottonfibers grabbing
skin and dragging behind our
feet, cold passing between
our toes. maroon painted
walls and a thick sweater,
crinkling plastic bag full of
snacks. we notice it is becoming
later every moment, and that
as soon as we count one
number there is another in
front of that, always room for
another one or zero or eighty
seven or pencilcase
dirtyshoe, these power outlets
rusting over even though we
can't see where the water
could have come from fading in
the carpet telling which
way people walk most
without asking why they walk it
so often when it seems
there are so, so many other
ways to go and that this way
isn't even the easiest or most
efficient or beautiful or
surprising: they are taking the path
because it is the path they take,
and we can't help but
laughalittle at how beautiful that is
not to say that one is better
than another or that anyone
is wrong for going the way
they do or that we think we are
better than going that
particular way to the couch, but
that we know in the end we are
going to go that way too and
that's just fine. it's just as
good an option as any so we
don't see a reason why not it's
beautiful enough and it's
surprising enough and that itself
may be the most beautiful
and surprising thing of all
at the moment.
thought colors; we are
feet an old friend we time
whose name came the or maybe
the sound cell we remember
that own of asking questions
of their own their,
wondering which the momentnow
ones we expect in situations
some kind. sense, that
things another consistency
we accidentally
imagine ourselves as having for
a head this strangely
shaped box or a bird feeder with
a triangular roof or
something similar and we are
sitting in the front passenger
seat of an old car and someone
we care a lot about asks,
who are you? and we
think for a minute, and then
another. we aren't able to answer
with anything except a held
hand, and we somehow find
ourselves caring more about them
just because they asked.
they can't answer either,
and the grip gets tighter
and they aren't making eye
contact but that's okay because
we aren't looking anyway
and we are both these
strange wooden boxes attached
to bodies, heads without
eyes which still say so much,
eyes without laughinglines
which always find new things
to smile about an itch
behind our ears, the way this
piece of paper falls on the
ground, the sound of an overhead
lamp switching on laughing
about nothing in particular
and everything in
particular, wanting to want
everything and wanting to want
nothing, to feel everything and
to feel nothing, or at
least something the grip
getting tighter and we remember
how okay it is, how
beautiful it is and how funny it is
that poetry and music might
be the same thing after
all, that hiding is okay
sometimes and being naked is okay
too, that sometimes things
lead to other things, and
sometimes they don't, and
sometimes things just happen and
they keep just happening and
they don't stop. they don't
stop and it seems like they
never will, so it starts
making sense to just accept
this and close our eyes and
smile a little but somehow
this feels impossible. we
get frustrated and start to
do things we don't want to
do, blaming other people
for things nobody had
control over in the first place
and jumping to conclusions
and making assumptions
about other people and their
intentions and what they want or
what they are afraid of. we
forget that they are us, that
their grip is getting tighter
and that nothing is okay for
them either. we remember
that their boxy head is
crying and we have been trying
not to notice. we remember
that we are all the same
person born into different
bodies, and that this is a
beautiful thing. this is a
beautiful thing. this is a
beautiful thing.