Notes to The Night Not Spent with You

1.
That is, crickets deafen.
2.
“My eyes deceived me” (Fr.). I.e., seen unclearly because of emotion.
3.
Alternately, a black veil studded with stars.
4.
In the copy referenced above, a meticulous pair of scissors has removed the lower half
of a folio in which he whispers into her neck, “I want to hear your song.”
5.
This poem, designed for two voices, appears on one side of a page in a manuscript
comprised mainly of legal texts. It contains no other poems.
6.
Birds used to be blinded because it was mistakenly thought that it encouraged them to
sing.

Compare with “...the moon that, unfaithful, floats from field to field” (Hanaogi IV, print
7.

by I. Koryusai, 1785-89).
8.
“No less important is strict observance of blackout rules. Windows, hatches, entrances,
and other openings through which light can shine must be covered with shutters, screens,
curtains, and other special opaque materials to prevent enemy ground and air observers
from noticing interior illumination. Smoking is forbidden, as is the display of lights of
any type” (“Lesson 5: Night Discipline,” from Camouflage; Protection Against Enemy
Surveillance).
9.
In an earlier version, she watches a lone male deer disappear into the grass.
10.
The tree has begun to grow away from its shadow.

“In the morning, I wipe between my legs to find I have begun to bleed” (Diaries, p.
11.

64).