The Intellectuals of Mongolia and Their Influence on Modern Art

Abstract

The Intellectuals of Mongolia and Their Influence on Modern Art Jennifer L. Knox (bio) Please stop stealing my vegetables, says the cardboard signin my neighbor’s zucchini patch, a zucchini patch that only existsbecause I planted zucchini last year and seeds blew into his yard—actually the no-man’s-land between our yards—I could probably finda property map showing where the vines cross into our yard. The zucchini are enormous—about two feet long, five pounds each,and there are at least twenty of them out there. They will roton the vines because the neighbor’s an idiot—he doesn’t even knowwhat they are, which is why his sign doesn’t say Please stop stealingmy zucchini. I saw him mowing the lawn once (his lawn is verymowed)—a young white man wearing a red polo shirt, tan pleated pants, and wrap-around black sunglasses that made him look like a cyborg.The curtains in his house are always drawn, which makes me thinkhe’s making meth in there, and the American flag hanging next to hisfront door makes me think he’s racist. I’m going to make a sign and lay itover his sign: They’re zucchini, asshat, and the only reason you’d needthat many, that big, is if you’re swapping them out for sex toys. ThenI’m going to write the word micropenis on his car with a Sharpiejust because. I’ve been perusing privacy fences online. There are many kinds.Some are quite creative. I miss New Yorkers’ fear. If Iowans worried100% more about getting beat up, there’d be no more signs,and they’d tailgate less, too—that shit’ll get you shot in New York. [End Page 309] I considered sharing my rage about this on Facebook, but they’re allon Facebook—posting pictures of their grandkids and talking aboutJesus—and it’s too long for Twitter, but I had to tell someone, so I de-cided to hide it in a place they’d never look. [End Page 310] Jennifer L. Knox Jennifer L. Knox is the author of four books of poems; her fifth is forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press in Fall 2020. Her poetry has appeared in the Best American Poetry series as well as in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and American Poetry Review. She teaches at Iowa State University and is currently at work on a culinary memoir. She can be reached at jenniferlknox@gmail.com. Copyright © 2019 Jennifer L. Knox