Resistance
by David Berman
(orginally published in Chan Magazine, fall 1997)
At the age of ten, I had four impacted molars removed; what I remember most vividly is my struggle against the anesthesia. It's not that I wanted to experience the surgery, but that fighting the loss of conciousness seemed the most natural thing to do. I did it spontaneously, as I would have struggled against drowning. When I regained conciousness, it was from a dream of struggle I awoke.
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