A Mown Lawn
by Lydia Davis
She hated mown lawn. Maybe that was because mow was the reverse of wom, the beginning of the name of what she was -- a woman. A mown lawn had a sad sound to it, like a long moan. From her, a mown lawn made a long moan. Lawn had some of the letters of man, though the reverse of man would be Nam, a bad war. A raw war. Lawn also contained the letters of law. In fact, lawn was a contraction of lawman. Certainly a lawman could and did mow a lawn. Law and order could be seen as starting from lawn order, valued by so many Americans. More lawn could be made by using a lawn mower. A lawn mower did make more lawn. More lawn was a contraction of more lawmen. Did more lawn in America make more lawmen in America? Did more lawn make more Nam? More mown lawn made more long moan, from her. Or a lawn mourn. So often, she said, Americans wanted more lawn mown. All of America might be one long mown lawn. A lawn not mown grows long, she said: better a long lawn. Better a long lawn and a mole. Let the law man have the mown lawn, she said. Or the moron, the lawn moron.
Lydia Davis (American, born 1947) writes stories and translates French literature. "A Mown Lawn" appears in her Samuel Johnson Is Indignant: Stories.
by Lydia Davis
She hated mown lawn. Maybe that was because mow was the reverse of wom, the beginning of the name of what she was -- a woman. A mown lawn had a sad sound to it, like a long moan. From her, a mown lawn made a long moan. Lawn had some of the letters of man, though the reverse of man would be Nam, a bad war. A raw war. Lawn also contained the letters of law. In fact, lawn was a contraction of lawman. Certainly a lawman could and did mow a lawn. Law and order could be seen as starting from lawn order, valued by so many Americans. More lawn could be made by using a lawn mower. A lawn mower did make more lawn. More lawn was a contraction of more lawmen. Did more lawn in America make more lawmen in America? Did more lawn make more Nam? More mown lawn made more long moan, from her. Or a lawn mourn. So often, she said, Americans wanted more lawn mown. All of America might be one long mown lawn. A lawn not mown grows long, she said: better a long lawn. Better a long lawn and a mole. Let the law man have the mown lawn, she said. Or the moron, the lawn moron.
Lydia Davis (American, born 1947) writes stories and translates French literature. "A Mown Lawn" appears in her Samuel Johnson Is Indignant: Stories.
